SA fans enjoy match at Eden Gardens

Kolkatans might have missed out on watching Team India play at Eden Gardens but the fame of the grounds has still managed to lure cricket fans all the way from South Africa.
As the Proteas got ready to face Ireland, yesterday, at Eden Gardens, a group of die-hard fans were seen outside the stadium, who have travelled all the way from Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town to catch their home team playing.“We call ourselves the Amla Army. We are die-hard fans of Hashim Amla,” said Brian. The gang of Guy, Brian, Tim, Jono and Dave, has come equipped with false beards, much like the one Amla sports on his chin. “We will wear the beards throughout the match and make sure our team wins,” said Jono. “There were two big reasons that prompted us to visit India for the World Cup — seeing Sachin Tendulkar play and to watch a live match at Eden Gardens. We have heard so much about the grounds,” said Tim.
However, all is not hunky-dory with the gang, which revealed how they’d been harassed and found the infrastructure ‘confusing’. “We had booked our tickets online, and were supposed to collect our tickets from the stadium but were harassed despite showing identification documents,” said Guy.
The motley lot finally managed to get hold of their tickets and were seen doing an impromptu jig in front of Eden Gardens. The South African fans seemed to be equally fond of Sachin as well. “Sachin’s century was unbelievable. He is truly one of the greatest . players ever,” said Dave.