Watching a match at Dharamsala: An unforgettable experience

There was lot of talk in the media, on Twitter etc. that Dharamsala would not be able to host the final ODI between India and England due to extreme cold weather. But HPCA Cricket stadium made its debut in grand style by hosting a game successfully.

Initially, Dharamsala was supposed to host the 4^TH ODI on January 23, but then BCCI decided to keep it a day game and so Dharamsala was given the 5^th ODI on Sunday. It turned out to be a good decision as there was some snowfall on 23^rd in Dharamsala and it was good enough to affect the match. The winter in Dharamsala was in full flow. The minimum temperature went down to -7 a week before the town was to host a match. But by the match day came, the weather got better. On the match day, the weather was better than what it was at Delhi on Jan 6 during the India vs Pakistan ODI match.

I first saw this beautiful stadium in February 2005 when Pakistan went there to play a 3-day match before a 3 match Test series. That day I decided that I would go to this stadium when it hosted a big match. Then the stadium started hosting IPL games since 2010 but I was waiting for an international fixture. When BCCI announced Dharamsala as a venue for an ODI, I had two reasons for going there. First was that I always wanted to watch a match there and second was that I had a feeling that this might well be Sachin Tendulkar’s last ODI. (That feeling turned out to be a Ravi Shastri-like feeling). So I planned my trip with one of my cricket-crazy cousin more than 3 months back before the match.

I reached Dharamsala on Januay 26^th and there was a festive mood in the city. It wasn’t because of the Republic Day but because of the first ever ODI which the town was going to host on Sunday. Many people had come from outstations like Delhi, Chandigarh and Amritsar to watch the match. There were few English supporters as well. It was a great time for the local people (most of them associated with tourism) as they normally don’t see such a rush in this season but the cricket match brought people in town in winter. When I went to the stadium on the eve of the match, I was glad to see not only a cricket stadium, but also a superb athletic track. I am sure it can be useful for high altitude training as Dharamsala is about 1450 meters about the sea level.

Officials decided to start the match at 9.30 AM instead of 9, because there was a queue outside the stadium gates since 6 when the temperature was still just above 0. Unlike other stadiums, getting into the stadium was easy. Not too much of security check hassles. Though it was mentioned on tickets that cameras, bags etc won’t be allowed, all these things were allowed in the stadium after proper checking. When I entered the stands, the view was absolutely breathtaking, with the snow-covered hills in the background. There are no grills in front of any stands so the view is not obstructed no matter where you’re sitting. I feel, unlike other stadiums, here at HPCA stadium, uncovered stands should be costlier than covered stands as sunlight will be helpful in this stadium. The stadium was almost full by the time the match began. There were more than 22000 people in stadium, more than the population of Dharamsala which was 19500 in 2005). I feel this match will inspire lot of youngsters to take up sports, especially Cricket.

There were few issues with tickets which were bought online but HPCA staff was humble and sorted the issues out. This was slightly surprising for me as I haven’t seen other state associations treating spectators in a nice manner. HPCA, led by Mr Anurag Thakur, has put up a superb effort to come up with such a stunning stadium. I haven’t seen any state association president getting a standing ovation during the match. Also, this match did one very unusual thing of bringing the current CM and Ex- CM from rival political parties on the same stage. But then Sports has this ability of keeping the differences away!

For me, it was worth going all the way to Dharamsala from Ahmedabad to watch this match. Yes, would have loved to see India win the game or even put up a fight but then that’s the beauty of sports. It is an unscripted drama. After having seen cricket at Motera, Eden Gardens, VCA Jamtha, Wankhede, Sahara Stadium, and Wanderers, I can say that HPCA stadium is the best I have ever been to. Even Sourav Ganguly, who has played at the beautiful Newlands, Cape town in South Africa, said in a pre-match show that this stadium looked far better. To all the cricket fans reading this, I would like to say that if you ever get a chance to watch a match at HPCA Stadium- Dharamsala, DO NOT MISS IT!