Original draft of article published in Sports Illustrated India, December 2009 issue
One of the earliest stories about cricket that I remember lapping up wide-eyed is one who’s telling I can recall vividly to this day. New Year’s Day, Calcutta, 1967 and the second Test of the series against the West Indies was underway. Eden Gardens had been bursting at the seams, but in an ominous way. Fuelled by the greed of authorities who had oversold tickets to the tune of 20,000, it was a cauldron of spectator discomfort, distress and danger. And on the second day of the Test, it gave. A full scale riot ensued, with ill-tempered crowds rampaging onto the playing field, battling it out with the police. The terrified West Indian players fled amidst the tear gas in all directions, with some of them making it out of the stadium and running for their lives down the side-streets of Calcutta. But what one player did amidst all this mayhem was remarkable. Conrad Hunte, the classy West Indian opening batsman did not straight line it to the safety of the dressing room or the streets. Risking potential physical harm from the rampaging mob, he had the gumption to run over to the flag poles, shinny up and retrieve the two national flags flapping in the breeze.
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