There is not everything in a match environment you can catch on TV. espnstar.com brings to you some of those moments.

By Dominic Franks

There’s less than an hour to go before the first match of the League stage in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20. It’s a Group B encounter between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Victorian Bushrangers.

The Australian outfit are the first out on the ground. Peter Siddle, who will lead Victoria’s pack of pacers, beckons to one of the groundsmen who sit around in a circle near the pitch which has been fenced off all around.

The groundsman runs up with a spool of measuring tape and Siddle measures his run-up. Another groundsmen has quickly appeared from nowhere with a can of white paint. Siddle marks out the start of his run-up with a few agricultural strokes of the brush. In the far corner of the pitch, Clint McKay practices his batting skill with a few throw downs.

David Hussey stands around patiently waiting to give an interview to the attendant camera crew. Robin Uthappa is first out on the ground for Royal Challengers. He has a few throw downs too, but the ball boys aren’t as precise as professional bowlers, and ‘Robbie’ (that’s what his shirt says) spends more time passing the ball back rather than hitting the sweet spot with his bat.

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The quintessential Indian’s neglect of other sports is exemplified by a policeman’s attempt at humour when he watches Victoria warming up with a rugby ball. “They’ve come to play cricket or football? Even the football is shaped funny,” he ponders in Kannada.

When the DJ tests the audio system with a hit hip hop number, Ian Chappell shows some fancy footwork on the scaffolding where the cameras are placed just below the commentary box. He’s having a quite moment by himself. Anil Kumble and Ray Jennings walk out to the centre. Kumble rubs his palm across the pitch. The duo are deep in conversation. B Akhil marks out his run-up, but he eschews the measuring tape in favour of his feet. Dale Steyn too marks out his run-up with paint. Does that mean he’ll be playing today? Time will tell.

Praveen Kumar bowls between two fluorescent orange light sabres stuck into the crowd about 22 yards apart. There are three plastic cones near one light sabre- yellow, white and blue signifying three different lengths- full, good and short. The ball lands on the white cone and flips it out of the way. The next three deliveries Kumar bowls all fall between the yellow cone and the blue cone.

Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid are caught up in a quiet discussion as they walk to the crease. What one would give to be a fly on either one’s shirt sleeve on a day like this? Jacques Kallis hasn’t joined the team as they warm up. He’s attired in the RCB colours but he’s standing around with a baseball mitt on his hand. If he doesn’t play Royal Challengers will miss his all-round abilities. Mark Boucher shares a long joke with Cameron White. A quick punch on the chest and Boucher’s off to join the team- but as a wicketkeeper he practices separately while the rest of the Royal Challengers go through their fielding drills.

Brijesh Patel and Syed Kirmani who looks dapper in a cowboy hat are out in the middle too. They’re joined by Javagal Srinath- the match referee.

It’s time for the toss. A roar goes up when Ravi Shastri announces Javagal Srinath as the ‘local boy’. The crowd roar their approval. Srinath smiles. There’s another roar when Cameron White calls wrong and Kumble gets lucky with the toss for the third time in the tournament. The suspicions have been confirmed- Steyn is in, Kallis is out with injury. The stadium is less than half full but there’s still a fair bit of noise. You can hear the country drums being beaten outside the stadium. It should fill up as the night goes on.

With Kallis out who’s going to open the batting for Royal Challengers? Will Dravid take up the cudgels. He still hasn’t made a statement after being unceremoniously dropped from the ODI squad. Will ‘the Wall’ step up to the crease and let his bat do the talking once again? The answer will be on TV  pretty soon.

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