The Hyderabad JINX for Team India

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: As Australian wicket-keeper Graham Manou broke the stumps to run Praveen Kumar out in a nail-biting fifth One-day International, Team India failed to break the “Hyderabad jinx” yet again.
M S Dhoni’s team came close to erasing the “jinxed” tag attached to the Hyderabad International Cricket Stadium but fell short by a mere three runs in one of the most spectacular contests.
Now, the Hyderabad International Cricket Stadium played host to three One-day Internationals in which the home teams always ended up a loser.
After Sachin Tendulkar set the stadium on fire with his stupendous batting display, I thought India would not lose the match and set a new trend for the the Uppal stadium. Alas, it didn't happen!
What’s Hyderabad jinx?
“The faulty vaasthu of the stadium itself,” says noted vaasthu exponent Danturi Pandarinath.
Like any other stadium, the Hyderabad cricket ground too has ‘pluses and minuses.’
“But the minuses, especially in relation to vaasthu, here are more. These minuses are turning into pluses for the visitors rather than the hosts,” Pandarinath pointed out.
Inaugurated in 2004, the Uppal stadium played host to the first One-day International between India and South Africa on November 15, 2005. India, batting first, made 249, aided by Yuvraj Singh’s century. But South Africa comfortably romped home making 252. The second match here was played between India and Australia on October 5, 2007. The visiting Kangaroos made 290 on a belter of a track and then bowled out the hosts for 243.
And now, India came close to chasing a mammoth 350 runs notched up by Australia but faltered despite a stupendous 175 by the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
It’s not just the Indian team that has been consistently losing at this venue. Being the “home team,” Deccan Chargers too could not escape the drubbing as it lost all the seven encounters during the IPL-1 season.
“The main flaw, as per vaasthu, lies in the stadium’s compound wall. It is squarer at some places and shapeless at others. Besides, the swimming pool attached to the stadium is at the wrong place – south-west corner – whereas it should be either on the north or the east,” Pandarinath, who is also an ardent ‘Indian fan’, pointed out.
Even the home team’s dressing room was found to be having certain flaws which were also affecting the prospects.
Hyderabad Cricket Association authorities say the Deccan Chargers management got the stadium examined for vaasthu compliance prior to the Champions League T20 matches recently.
In fact, Pandarinath himself volunteered to inspect the stadium’s vaasthu as he was perturbed over the failure of “home teams” that played cricket matches here.
“On the western end of the stadium, there is a hill which is a plus. Similarly, the north-east portion is also on a higher plane which is another plus,” Pandarinath told the HCA authorities.
He suggested that the HCA make necessary modifications so that at least in future cricket lovers will not have to see their favourites ending up on the wrong side.
HCA acting secretary Chalapati said more than the HCA, the Deccan Chargers management was keen on the vaasthu compliance aspect. “Accordingly, they made some changes ahead of the Champions League T20 matches recently,” he said.
With the “Hyderabad jinx” becoming the talking point after the India-Australia encounter, cricket lovers hope the HCA -- which pockets crores of rupees after each International match -- will shell out a few lakh rupees to carry out necessary modifications and help the home teams break the jinx.