Kolkata: Get down at the Park Street Station, walk through the maidans thickly populated with cricket clubs, cross some of the iconic football clubs of India and just after you zig-zag through the yellow cabs, there lies one of India's most iconic stadium - the Eden Gardens.
But the mood around the venue isn't ideal, neither with the fans nor their heroes. And that's not something you come across often ahead of a game that involves cricket's two most bitter rivals - India and Pakistan.
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It started as a political battle when Pakistan refused to play at Dharamsala. ICC switched the game to Kolkata, governments intervened and security assurances were issued by the state of West Bengal. But while the administrative blocks were finally placed in the right pegs, grievances of the ticket-less fans escalated and reached a level where the sentiment now is that "if they can't watch the match, then who are the stars playing for?"
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On the field, India's start was far from expected. The hot favourites fell like a pack of cards against New Zealand in Nagpur, raising stakes in the game against
Pakistan - which India must win now, especially because Shahid Afridi's boys mauled Bangladesh to start their campaign in style.
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The two situations on and off the pitch leave both the Indian fans and players in somber mood.
While the team stayed in the confines of their hotel rooms on Thursday, irate fans hung around the Eden Gardens to try their luck for an outside chance of procuring a ticket.
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At the end of the day, sports is business as well. In return of earning the cash, each one involved in running a sport has a duty to ensure that the end user - the fan - is thoroughly entertained.
The BCCI and ICC, on their part, deployed the best possible practice to ensure a level playing field for everyone wanting a ticket for the big game. Lots were drawn twice - first for Dharamasala and then when the game was shifted, for Kolkata.
But not every fan believes it's fair to them, surely those whose names weren't picked in the draw of lots.
"I don't want to see the match. It's a joke," said a fan outside the stadium. "Better luck next time: that's what the message is for most who had registered online for tickets.
"Is the game being played for spectators or bureaucrats? I am very angry. Why did they bring the game to Eden when the public was not supposed to get the ticket?" he raised his concern. "There is no ticket counter [for India vs Pakistan]. If not me, somebody else could get it had it been available on the counter."
The anger among local fans also stems from the fact that Eden Gardens, the changed venue for the game that was initially scheduled to be played in Dharamsala, has more than double the capacity of the ground in Himachal Pradesh.
The ticket-seekers, thus, feel clueless as to why still neither them nor any of their friends got luckier despite more tickets coming into the draw and many previous winners for Dharamsala also forfeited their tickets.
But that resentment will stay as is over the next two days since all the processes for ticket sales have been completed, and the focus is now entirely on the game.
Inside Eden, the pitch is the centre of attention beside the form of Indian batsmen who couldn't chase 126 on turning Nagpur track. The curator here rolled out a flat deck in the game between Pakistan and Bangladesh, where the former scored 200-plus for an easy win.
It would have only raised Pakistan's hopes of first win over India in an ICC event, and the visitors will certainly pull the curtains further down on the hosts should they keep their unbeaten record in Kolkata intact.
While that's a worry, it only adds to the excitement for those lucky few who will take their seats in the Eden Gardens at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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