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India vs South Africa, 2005: When Eden Gardens chose the visitors over home team

Shreyasi

IND vs SA, Eden ODI 2005 [Source: AFP Photos]IND vs SA, Eden ODI 2005 [Source: AFP Photos]

Kolkata is famous for its love and passion for sports. The city is celebrated for showing unwavering and unconditional support for the sports stars. When it comes to cricket, Eden Gardens is one of the world’s iconic venues.

From the historical perspective to the enthusiastic crowd, Eden Gardens has been part of Indian sports folklore. The Eden audience is known for backing the cricketers wholeheartedly. The loyalty of the Eden audience echoes through their thunderous cheers.

The ground that believes in supporting every cricketer always reserves the loudest roars for its own team. However, Eden can be tough, too. November 25, 2005, was one such day.

What made Eden crowd furious? The background

The ODI match between India and South Africa in 2005 saw a completely different Eden Gardens- passion was there, but warmth was missing. It was one of those rare occasions when the captain of the Indian cricket team was rejected by the spectators at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

The cricket fans in Kolkata were furious and disappointed with the turn of events that saw former India captain Sourav Ganguly being axed from the team. They refused to accept Ganguly's absence from the Indian cricket team, and the stands at the Eden Gardens echoed the emotions.

The fervent support that Eden genuinely shows to the home team was missing. The crowd stood firmly by their local hero. Ninety thousand fans appeared only to showcase their displeasure at Ganguly’s omission from the side and make their loyalty unmistakably clear. “No Sourav, no cricket” was their slogan for the day.

Eden rejected the Indian captain, refused to support team India

Source: X/@sas_3343Source: X/@sas_3343

The Indian team, on the other hand, badly needed the support at home. India wanted to win the match to take a comfortable lead in the ongoing 5-match series, levelled at 1-1. 

They batted first, only to be bundled out for 188 runs. Yuvraj Singh (53) and Mohammad Kaif (46) showed some resistance, but the rest of the batting lineup crumbled. Shaun Pollock and Andrew Hall took 3 apiece.

Every Indian wicket was celebrated by the crowd. Every chant was against the home team. The maximum booing was reserved for the Indian captain, Rahul Dravid. The moment Dravid was dismissed for 6, the crowd erupted in joy.

It was the same venue where Dravid played the legendary knock in the 2001 Test against Australia. It was the same venue where Dravid scored hundreds in both innings of a Test against Pakistan in March 2005, a few months before the ODI.

The Indian captain, Rahul Dravid, found himself at the receiving end of jeers from the home crowd as Eden cheered for the opposition. It was a tough pill to swallow, a reaction that was difficult for many to comprehend, especially coming from the Eden audience.

But Eden chose South Africa captain Graeme Smith over their own skipper. In response to the Indian innings, Smith led from the front, remaining unbeaten on 134 to win the match for the Proteas by 10 wickets. South Africa took a 2-1 lead.