Apart from the hard bouncy wickets, a boisterous lager induced crowd, its also the beginning of Summer in Australia. So in an attempt to get acclimatised to such starkly different conditions, some members of the Indian test squad reached the shores down under, a couple of days back. The contingent comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid,  VVS Laxman, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha and Pragyan Ojha feature in this fan captured video as they come out of the arrival hall of the Melbourne Airport. The MCG as its customary, will host the first test of the series which is famously referred to as “The Boxing Day Test”.

For the spectators in the ground a 100,000 of them and the millions around the globe that follow the sport, this is an event that is anticipated and followed very closely. The fact that India are the visitors this time only adds on to that festive fervour. Expect to see a sea of Santa hats and if there is one piece of living room Christmas decor You fancy on Yourself, there is likelihood that You may catch someone adorning it on the telly. In all fairness its a sight to see and having witnessed it for decades waking up in the wee hours of cold boxing day mornings in India, I hope someday I will experience it first hand.

I plan to follow every ball of the series and have some serious plans in reference to that. But for now, the images that are flooding my mind dates back to some 10 – 15 years back where I’d be the first in the family to wake up in the morning, all wrapped in woolens and lousy socks grabbing a hot beverage, giving in to hysteria of a wild capacity crowd enjoying a warm sunny summer morning some 7000 kms away, on the telly. The MCG incidentally is the not most sporting of wickets, but the feverish hysteria surrounding the match is always one of the most anticipated events of the year. Be sure to subscribe to it, if You’re in Malaysia (see I need to pay for such necessities).

All the best to India for the match and the series. Here is the link for all the info about the series.

(More serious posts covering the series to follow, under Cricket)

Video Courtesy : http://www.cricketcountry.com