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Sports in India
Sports in India
Hockey ((Field hockey)). Despite the craze for cricket and football, the national game of India , hockey retains a prominent position in the hearts of many Indians. Although the viewership has dwindled significantly , (as compared to the golden era before cricket came to the fore in the mid 80's), it hasn't vanished off. Specially in North India, some eastern parts like Jharkhand, Orissa and the north-eastern states still have a significant base. The introduction of the Premier Hockey League has recovered its popularity in recent times. �
Cricket. India is a cricket-obsessed country and cricket is in the blood of most Indians. Seeing kids playing cricket in parks and alleys with rubber balls and makeshift wickets is an extremely common sight. Until 2008, Indian cricket was all about the national team playing against other countries in one-day matches or epic five-day Test marathons, but the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has, for better or worse, brought fast-paced, commercialized "Twenty20" cricket to the fore, complete with cheerleaders and massive salaries. In international matches, while Australia and South Africa make viable opposition, the biggest rivalry by far is with neighbouring Pakistan, and matches between the two sides are often a very charged affair. About half-a dozen Indian stadiums have a capacity of over 45,000 and watching a cricket match can be quite an experience. Eden Gardens cricket stadium at Kolkata is Asia's highest capacity stadium with over 90,000 seating capacity. The atmosphere of most matches is electrifying. Nearly all international matches have sellout crowds, and it is quite normal for fans to bribe officials and make their way in. Starting ticket prices are quite cheap; they can be as low as Rs 250 to 300. India and Pakistan are all-time arch rivals, and cricket matches between the two nations attract up to a billion TV viewers. �
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India Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.