Non-cricket lovers hate it when an international cricket match is staged in their city. In short, it's a change in routine that those not crazy about cricket would love to do without.

But here, there are a few exceptions. The stadium is in the outskirts of the city. Only when it's time for an international match does the road get any attention, which has pleased quite a few locals. In fact, some of them are wishing Vadodara gets to host a match every six months so that the road will be in perfect shape.

Munaf Patel is back to what he does so well bowl fast. The tall pacer is famous for bowling his heart out and at times, spewing fire even during net sessions. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir have been his victims here. On Friday, he hit Dhoni on the knee and the skipper was seen strapped with an ice pack for a few hours. On Saturday, he ran in full steam and his bouncer hit Gambhir straight on the helmet. Fortunately, the helmet stood up to the test and the batsman was fine after a few minutes.

THE Aussies are sponsored by beer company, Victoria Bitter, who have made sure they get as much publicity as possible. They have not even spared the kit bags. Apart from a huge logo across the kit bag, VB's tag line is large too: 'The drinking Beer.' Alcohol advertising is banned in India and Gujarat in particular follows prohibition. Howzatt?