A visit to Indore isn’t full and not using a stroll down Sarafa Bazaar, or so the Diary was advised, repeatedly. From the employees on the Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport to the cab driver en path to the lodge and even the lodge concierge, everybody had the identical suggestion. Indore is a foodie’s haven, much more so throughout Diwali. After match duties on the Holkar Stadium, the Diary and some colleagues got down to conquer the jam-packed, winding lanes of Sarafa Bazaar. What started as an off-the-cuff stroll quickly became a two-hour gastronomic marathon, and a abdomen with completely no room left.
Quiet pleasure: A smile price greater than a headline, as Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter holds her Sportstar characteristic in hand.
| Picture Credit score:
ANIRUDH VELAMURI
Quiet pleasure: A smile price greater than a headline, as Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter holds her Sportstar characteristic in hand.
| Picture Credit score:
ANIRUDH VELAMURI
The Diary’s World Cup stint spanned three India matches, all defeats, one in Indore and two within the port metropolis of Visakhapatnam. But, it wasn’t the cricketing highs or the culinary delights that may linger longest in reminiscence. It was a five-minute alternate with Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter that etched itself most deeply into the Diary’s pages. An interview with Marufa, performed earlier in Colombo, had already appeared in Sportstar by the point she flew to India. When the Diary discovered a quiet second at hand her a replica of the journal, the 20-year-old’s radiant smile on seeing it felt like the very best overview one might ever hope for.
-Anirudh Velamuri reporting from Visakhapatnam and Indore
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A metropolis of recollections, lacking just a few
After a lot coaxing from each tuk-tuk driver the Diary employed for its stadium runs, a day was lastly put aside to discover Colombo. The six-hour sightseeing expedition started on the iconic P. Sara Oval, which by the way now serves as the house base of the nationwide girls’s crew and its developmental pathways.
Tucked away in Borella, a neighbourhood that has traditionally borne the brunt of town’s riots, the venue, house to the Tamil Union Cricket Membership, was among the many constructions burnt down throughout the anti-Tamil violence of 1983. The premises homes cricket memorabilia from Sir Donald Bradman’s go to to the island. Funnily sufficient, the one seen feminine illustration on its partitions was a framed collage from a star cricket match that includes Bollywood veterans of the Fifties, together with Raj Kapoor and Nargis.
Visuals from the P. Sara Oval
| Picture Credit score:
Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan
Visuals from the P. Sara Oval
| Picture Credit score:
Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan
Greater than the closely Instagrammed and crowded Gangaramaya Temple, the Diary discovered peace within the quiet Seema Malaka Temple just some hundred metres away. The construction itself stands as a logo of Colombo’s inter-religious concord; its reconstruction on the Beira Lake was funded by a Muslim businessman and designed by the legendary Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa.
The World Cup run in Sri Lanka has been underwhelming, marred by washouts, lacklustre promotion, and skinny crowds. But, nothing disillusioned fairly just like the Sri Lanka Cricket Museum housed inside the board’s headquarters. The reveals hint the nation’s cricketing journey however abruptly cease at 2016. The small room is lined with trophies from continental and bilateral triumphs, together with a proud show of the 2014 Males’s T20 World Cup silverware. However the cherished Ladies’s Asia Cup trophy, gained in Dambulla in 2024 after beating India, stays stashed someplace in a field; one amongst many updates the museum sorely wants. It is a chance misplaced for a nation internet hosting the ladies’s world showpiece for the primary time.
-Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan reporting from Colombo
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The fan who lastly requested
Touchdown in Colombo forward of the ultimate few league matches of the Ladies’s ODI World Cup, the Diary had anticipated to see indicators of assist for Sri Lanka, which nonetheless had three house video games remaining. Each native who requested the rationale for visiting obtained the identical reply: cricket protection on the R. Premadasa, fondly generally known as Khettarama. For days, tuk-tuk drivers ferried the Diary to and from the stadium, passing the standard flags and banners, but none appeared curious sufficient to ask who was taking part in.
City rhythm: Brightly painted tuk-tuks wait outdoors Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium, as a lot a logo of town’s pulse because the cricket they ferry followers to.
| Picture Credit score:
KAVITA MENON
City rhythm: Brightly painted tuk-tuks wait outdoors Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium, as a lot a logo of town’s pulse because the cricket they ferry followers to.
| Picture Credit score:
KAVITA MENON
Till one afternoon, a wide-eyed Nallasamy hesitated earlier than accepting his fare and requested if spectators had been allowed to look at. When advised that entry was free, his face lit up much more. On studying that Sri Lanka was taking part in “a superb crew”, South Africa, he promised to park close by and take part. Later, when the cameras panned throughout the practically empty stands, the Diary smiled. There he was, cheering the groups on regardless of the rain.
-Kavita Menon reporting from Colombo
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A metropolis tuned to a special frequency
When the Diary stepped into the taxi pick-up space of the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Worldwide Airport, it was pleasantly stunned to identify just a few billboards selling the Ladies’s World Cup. However as quickly because the cab started its 20-odd kilometre journey into Guwahati metropolis, the Diary was greeted by numerous signages paying tribute to Zubeen Garg, the long-lasting Assamese singer who had just lately handed away, outdoors houses and site visitors alerts alike.
“He’s thought of a legend right here. Folks cherished him as a result of he wasn’t afraid to talk his thoughts, even when it meant going towards the institution,” mentioned a media member from the Assam Cricket Affiliation.
Enduring echo: A billboard of the late Zubeen Garg stands tall in Guwahati, his voice and presence nonetheless woven into town’s on a regular basis rhythm.
| Picture Credit score:
RAJDEEP SAHA
Enduring echo: A billboard of the late Zubeen Garg stands tall in Guwahati, his voice and presence nonetheless woven into town’s on a regular basis rhythm.
| Picture Credit score:
RAJDEEP SAHA
It was solely pure then that the opening match of the event between India and Sri Lanka, held within the metropolis, drew record-breaking crowds for a particular Garg tribute. His loyal followers made certain they didn’t miss it.
Garg’s voice is unmistakable and appears to observe you wherever you go in Guwahati. You may be in your lodge room writing about how Bangladesh practically beat England and swear you heard somebody outdoors buzzing Ya Ali. His voice lingers in eating places, filling the air, and even on the Barsapara Stadium, serving to a groundsman get by means of his day.
Whereas the New Zealand crew skilled within the nets to songs like Right here With out You by 3 Doorways Down, it was clear to the Diary that cricket could come and go in Guwahati, however Zubeen Garg will dwell without end.
-Rajdeep Saha reporting from Guwahati
Printed on Oct 25, 2025