Cricket fans worldwide dream of watching their favorite matches live at the stadium. The atmosphere is unmatched, and fans are willing to pay enormous amounts of money to participate. Recently, during an ICC Cricket World Cup Super League 2 match between UAE and Nepal, thousands of fans turned up at Kirtipur’s Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground to cheer for their team. With the stadium packed, some fans decided to sit on trees to catch the action live.
In light of this, here are three of the craziest things cricket lovers have done to watch matches live:
1. The fan in Bridgetown Resorts to Climbing Coconut Tree to Watch a Cricket Match
In 1958, Pakistan toured West Indies for a Test series, and Bridgetown hosted the first Test. Pakistan conceded 579 runs in the first innings and got bowled out for just 106 runs. Hanif Mohammad scored a triple hundred in the second innings, batting for 970 minutes and aggregating 337 runs. A fan watching the game live from a tree in Bridgetown fell asleep and fell from the tree, breaking his legs. Despite the fan’s accident, Hanif’s innings remain memorable in cricket history.
2. Sudhir Kumar Choudhary climbs a mountain to support Team India in a cricket match.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced authorities to ban spectators from attending live cricket matches in 2020 and 2021. In early 2021, England toured India for a three-match ODI series played in Pune. Despite the ban on fans, Sudhir Kumar Choudhary, a passionate cricket fan, found a way to support the Indian cricket team. He climbed a nearby mountain and cheered for the team from the top during the matches played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Sudhir’s dedication to the team, even during the pandemic, inspired many cricket fans worldwide.
3. The passionate cricket fans of Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad has passionate cricket fans, and the world’s largest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium, with a seating capacity of 1,32,000. In 1981, Ahmedabad hosted its first ODI between India and England in a minor stadium, leading to limited tickets. Some fans resorted to watching the match from the roofs of opposite buildings.