Back to paradise at Eden

%60 tickets, a strip that may take time to spin: How Kolkata is gearing up

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

IN the beginning of the noughties, a Kolkata Test was as common as seeing people in this part of the country snacking on jhalmuri in newspaper-turned-containers.

The tangy number's association with Bengal was such that films regularly showed that tongue-smacking mixture to establish it was being shot in this region. Just like the jhalmuri, Eden Gardens’ heady flavours meant the venue and the city remained in position Al even considering India’s gargantuan cricketing ecosystem. The inaugural match of the Asian Test Championships. A maiden pink ball India Test. One of the venues for Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series. In fact, between March 1998 and November 2019, it was the unofficial home of Indian Test cricket.

14 Tests in 21 years and change. No other Indian Test venue had hosted more than 11. There was, it seemed, a certain pull, an invisible magic associated with this venue. It didn’t matter that BCCI presidents hailed from Mumbai, Nagpur or Chennai -- and these things matter an awful lot generally -- but Eden evoked a sense of nominative determinism to the Indian men’s team. Bliss. Paradise. But, then, suddenly, the lights were turned off, the music stopped and the band was sent home. Until this weekend.