Guwahati will see the end of a seven-year hiatus of cricketing action in a matter few hours as India take on Australia at the at the Barasapara Cricket Stadium. The venue last hosted an international game on November 28, 2010, when India beat New Zealand by 40 runs in an ODI before the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) moved from the Nehru Stadium to the brand new 37,000 capacity Barsapara stadium.
There will be an official opening of the ACA Barsapara Stadium by Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal ahead of the match, and many VVIPs including governor Jagdish Mukhi are invited.
The reason for such fanfare is straightforward to understand if you about Guwahati which is genuinely one of the most sporting places in India. Despite being a remote part of the country, the largest city in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam situated between Bhutan and Bangladesh in the famous chicken neck corridor, Guwahati is well on its way to becoming the centre of a sporting revolution.
Assam’s identity in the sporting sphere of India has been built by its football and boxing talent. As far as cricket is concerned, only the Guwahati-born paceman Abu Nechim, who has played for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, is the well-recognised cricketing talent from the state and perhaps the only Assamese to have come close to becoming an international player.
The true spirit of the city, which is currently gripped in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup fever, was visible in full colours when thousands of sports-loving fans flocked the airport to welcomes both the Indian and Australian sides at the airport.
The tickets for the match have been sold out well in advance, and there is a demand for more, reveals ACA secretary Pradip Buragohain sounded helpless.
Guwahati may be busy witnessing a historical piece of Indian footballing event, but this Wednesday will see the sports lovers of the city switch to the bat and ball game for a change and cheer for Virat Kohli and Co.
For hardcore cricketing fans sitting elsewhere in the cricket-mad metropolitan cities, this would be one of the rare occasions when a major non-cricketing sporting event has challenged cricket’s dominance.