After the first match of the India-England series which took place at Chennai’s Chepauk stadium behind closed doors, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) were finally able to allow spectators in a 50% capacity for the second Test. 

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Other than the obvious impact that the audience had on the hosts who came back swinging in Test 2 after a devastating blow in the first, the fans also added value to the visiting side, especially the England wicket-keeper Ben Foakes.

The middle-order batsman and arguably the best pair of hands behind the stumps for Joe Root, Foakes turns 28-year old today and the Chennai crowd wanted to make the day special for the Colchester born, even while being away from home.

Happy Birthday Ben Foakes#knowledgableChennaicrowd pic.twitter.com/n69szG2uNm

— Heisenberg (@internetumpire) February 15, 2021

Appreciating the Englishman, the Chepauk crowd broke out the traditional “Happy Birthday” song on Day 3 of the second Test while the man was on duty with the gloves and Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin were on their way to a 100-run partnership.

Indian fans who were present at the venue and those online, forgot the rivalry for a few moments and joined in on the celebration.

Chepauk crowd has always been sporting and entertaining. Even after that 1999 defeat, they clapped for Pakistan win!

— Avinash Jha 🇮🇳 (@Avinash_GIM) February 15, 2021

Advantage of having young spectators , they also cheered Broad when he dived .

— shubham shrivastava (@smileyexaminer) February 15, 2021

it's a Chepauk thing. Chennai crowd recognises and appreciates good cricket. and also a very humble crowd.
Proud of my city

— TommyTuchy 🇬🇧 (@LilTuchy_Chels) February 15, 2021

Best crowd in India, Crowd that enjoys cricket. #fact. knowledgeable

— The Cridator (@frankyydanyy) February 15, 2021

The Chennai crowd has shown the true spirit of the game in appreciating great cricket when they see it. Yes, they were happy for Rohit Sharma’s 161-run innings and cheered in unison when Kohli and local-lad ‘Ashwin Anna’ both achieved their back to back half-tons but they also acknowledged Foakes for his lightning-fast reflexes as the keeper.

Foakes has been simply brilliant for Root, especially in the first session of the third day. With some exceptional level of pitch awareness (which given the condition of the Chepauk turf, makes it even more impressive), the keeper stumped Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant and ran-out Cheteshwar Pujara within a span of 30 minutes.

He’d also been an absolute wall, not allowing any delivery to get past him while saving some potential extras. He’s used his feet, his body and palmed some tricky deliveries with just one glove on numerous occasions, thoroughly entertaining the crowd.

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