[13/10, 12:38] George Attokaran: Back at Chepauk  As is my norm, well ahead of schedule  There are more Cops than Fans  At least 300 Cops here 

[13/10, 13:05] George Attokaran: Thought a lot about which T-shirt to go for … Since it is a NZ match, why not go for the best selling NZ T-shirt, Mr. Williamson? Since it is a BAN match, why not go for the best ever Cricketer out of BAN, Mr. Hassan? … After a lot of pondering and back-and-forth, driving the vendor lady nuts, I went for THE Tshirt 99.99% IND fans seem to wear 

[13/10, 13:22] George Attokaran: Since the last time I was here, looks like lot of renovation has happened. Very clean premises inside MA Chidambaram Stadium. Restrooms are immaculate, at least in my stand. Courteous TNCA volunteers. Pricey, but not a huge ripoff, food vendors … BAN reporters/experts, I assume, has been given a Cows Corner location 

[13/10, 13:23] George Attokaran:  Not a big selfie person … I think my last selfie was after the tiring Hyuana Pichu mountain climb at Machu Picchu in Peru 

[13/10, 13:34] George Attokaran: Matt Henry

Trent Boult

Rachin Ravindra

Tom Latham

Shakib Al Hassan

Mushfiqur Rahman

Kane Williamson

Ish Sodhi

Lockie Ferguson

Mitch Santner

Could recognize these players so far

All warming up …

Huge roar when NZ won the toss … I expected more BAN fans. Kane effect?

[13/10, 13:48] George Attokaran: Crystal clear now … NZ has more fans in Chepauk. Kane got a Kohli like reception

[13/10, 14:01] George Attokaran: Definitely NZ!

[13/10, 14:03] George Attokaran: Rachin is now a SuperStar, looks like … Fans near him are giving a great ovation.

[13/10, 14:31] George Attokaran: Great reception for Devon Conway when he came to field at the boundary … The guy gave a nice wave to the fans as well

[13/10, 15:03] George Attokaran: Two BAN legends at the crease … Can they salvage something?

[13/10, 16:11] George Attokaran: The idiot announcer congratulated “Rahman” for his 50 … 

[13/10, 16:14] George Attokaran: Either Virat runs the company which manufactures IND team fan T-shirts and has his own “18” on it OR Virat just plain dominates the minds of IND Cricket fans. Even in Chennai (Where one would expect a few “7”s ) 99.99% IND jerseys are “18”

[13/10, 16:19] George Attokaran: I think they missed a trick by NOT putting (big) waste baskets (many of which they do have in the food vendors area) in the stands. Since food is allowed in the stands, it leads to a lot of garbage in the stands … (Stands were pristine before the match started).

Noticed that I was the only idiot who walked all the way to the nearest basket to throw my trash 

[13/10, 16:25] George Attokaran: I must say, if you are willing to let go of that perfect replay, (more) comfortable seating at home Etc., watching a match in a stadium is electric! Even for a Non-IND match (It has a lot to do with the venue and the Cricket-loving Chennai crowd) … Now there is a decent crowd, especially in my side of the ground. A pity Shakib got out. Saw some NZ fans dancing when he fell 

[13/10, 16:31] George Attokaran: For sure, Chepauk will be rocking on Oct 27th when Babar and company take on Quinton, Aiden and company … If Chennai crowd shows this passion for NZ-BAN …

[13/10, 16:55] George Attokaran: Except for that Mushfiqur-Shakib stand, NZ all over BAN .. Looks like BAN will need a miracle to pull ths one out.

[13/10, 17:16] George Attokaran: Looking at the purchase Santner, Phillips & Ravindra are getting, maybe Shakib & Mehdi may give NZ a run for their money 

[13/10, 17:21] George Attokaran: Star batsman Mustafizur Rahman is here … 30 balls remaining. ABD had scored a hundred in 31 balls. So …. 

[13/10, 17:37] George Attokaran: This is a great score!

If it was the 1980s 

[13/10, 18:11] George Attokaran: “White Lightning” has got his boys ready to defend what seems a sub-par score … Some bowling and catching warmups.

[13/10, 18:28] George Attokaran: Chennai  Kane, looks like

[13/10, 18:38] George Attokaran: Tough fight going on 

[13/10, 18:40] George Attokaran: What the heck … Is this Wasim Akram bowling 

[13/10, 19:03] George Attokaran: Had absolutely no idea there were this many Bangladeshis in Chennai … Though outnumbered by the majority who seems to root for NZ, these folks are louder and in a full in party mode

[13/10, 19:54] George Attokaran: Chennai fans are calling Kane “Kane Mama” 

[13/10, 19:57] George Attokaran: No prizes for guessing who the most popular Kiwi is …  (Even more than Devon)

[13/10, 20:18] George Attokaran: Tipping Point!

Knife’s Edge!

A couple of wickets, NZ will start  Another 20-30 runs with no further loss, then …

Adios!