Kamakhya still looks down from Nilachal, Umananda sits improbably in the Brahmaputra, and the river continues its immense journey past them all.
Long before Barsapara had floodlights, before the city had learned the vocabulary of international cricket, Guwahati had its gods, its hills, and its river. A day of cricket arrives here on Wednesday as India and the West Indies lock horns in the second ODI.
Thirty-five years later, in 2018, the city had acquired a new home for international cricket. India had become a white-ball powerhouse, and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli scored centuries as the host chased down 323. John Campbell and Justin Greaves, the West Indies’ fourth different opening combination in its last five ODIs, put together a 135-run stand.
Barsapara, the modern successor, hosted its first ODI. The West Indies, once the team everyone else sought to catch, was now trying to keep pace. There were signs of promise in Thiruvananthapuram. Greaves scored his maiden ODI hundred, while Campbell and Amir Jangoo made half-centuries. The bowling and fielding, however, need inspiration.