The Last Crusade

2 Feb 25

India v England

IDFC First Bank Series 5th T20 I

Wankhede Stadium

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

This was the 5th game of a 5 game series which started on 22 Jan at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and resulted in a 4:1 near whitewash of England. It was designed to prepare the teams for the forthcoming ICC Trophy in Pakistan/Dubai

1^st T20I 22 Jan 25	India 133/3	12.5	England 132	20	Eden Gardens Kolkata
2^nd T20I 25 Jan 25	India 166/8	19.2	England 165/9	20	MA Chidambaram Stadium Chennai
3^rd T20I 28 Jan 25	India 145/9	20	England 171/9	20	Niranjan Shah Stadium Rajkot
4th T20I 31 Jan 25	India 181/9	20	England 166	19.4	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium Pune
5^th T20I 2 Feb 25	India 247/9	20	England 97	10.3	Wankhede Stadium Mumbai

Tickets for the final T20I went on sale on the 'District by Zomato' app during my train journey from Pune to Mumbai, frustratingly I couldn't access my basket so was reliant on others. Thankfully CM came though and I was sorted.

India v England 5th T20I, Mumbai

Aerial view of the Wankhede Stadium showing its location on Marine Drive, circling around to the Hanging Gardens. It is one of the world's truly iconic cricket stadiums and has hosted many internationals in all formats. England first played here in a Test Match in 1977 and since then have played here a total of 15 times; 8 Test matches, 4 ODIs and 3 T20Is:

Test Match	11-16 Feb 1977	Test	Test Match drawn
Test Match	15-19 Feb 1980	Test	England beat India by 10 wkts
Test Match	27 Nov -1 Dec 1981	Test	India bt England by 138 runs
Test Match	28 Nov - 3 Dec 1984	Test	India bt England by 8 wkts
ODI – SF Reliance WC	5 Nov 1987	50	England bt India win by 35 runs
Test Match	19-23 Feb 1993	Test	India bt England by inns + 15 runs
ODI – Tour of India	3 Feb 2002	50	England bt India by 5 runs
Test Match	18-22 Mar 2006	Test	England bt India by 212 runs
ODI – Tour of India	23 Oct 2011	50	India bt England by 6 wkts
Test Match	23-26 Nov 2012	Test	England bt India by 10 wkts
T20I – Tour of India	22 Dec 2012	20	England bt India by 6 wkts
T20I – Super 10 Gp 1	18 Mar 2016	20	England bt South Africa by 2 wkts
Test Match	8-12 Dec 2016	Test	India bt England by inns + 36 runs
ODI – ICC CWC 23	21 Oct 23	50	South Africa bt England by 229 runs
T20I – Tour of India	2 Feb 25	20	India bt England by 150 runs

Day 1 Arriving in Mumbai and speed tourism: Me and the photographer's daughter after arriving in Mumbai on the Vandebharat Express from Pune

The station was built by the Victorians in 1888

Once you exit the station you get a feel of true splendour of the Victoria Terminus (VT) in Mumbai, though nowadays it is called CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus)

A taxi takes me to my digs at the Gordon House Hotel which is the heart of tourist district at Apollo Bunder in Colaba

The room was very basic and there was no springs on the bed just a wooden block. Ouch! No time to worry about that as I have a taxi booked to show me the sights of Mumbai

The first stop is 'Mahi Bhavan', the former Bombay residence of Gandhi from 1917-34. It was the nerve centre of all of his main political activities.

Mahi Bhavan on Laburnum Road

The building is now a museum to Ghandi. The 2nd floor has an exhibition depicting his life in miniature figures, here the model maker is painting some of the figurines

On 12 Mar 1930 Gandhi set out on his Salt March from Ahmedadad to Dandi. On the coast at Dandi he picked up a handful of salt (technically making the salt) and so breaking the law forbidding the poor from making their own salt. There was a nation wide defiance of the law and Gandhi was arrested, within weeks thousands of his followers were also imprisoned as they were deemed to have challenged the colonial rule of the British Empire

Next stop is the Adishwarji Jain Temple on Malabar Hill which is the holiest Jain Temple in Mumbai

A peaceful ambiance

Jainism is an ancient Indian religion that emphasises non-violence and living a disciplined life. Jains believe that all living things have souls and should respected

No visit to Mumbai is complete without tasting the street food. Here, I am being acquainted with Panipuri; an explosion of spices from within a deep fried spherical shell

The 3rd stop is the area of the Hanging Gardens on the top of Malabor Hill. From this view point you can see Marine Drive curving around the Arabian Sea

Entrance to the 300 year old Doongerwadi (garden on the hill) Tower of Silence. Where the influential and wealthy Parsi community practice a 3000 year old Zoroastrian tradition of disposing of their dead by exposing the corpses to vultures and other scavenger birds

The religion originated in Iran (Persia) but they were forced to flee around 900 AD due to an emerging Islam. Many came to India and most found safe haven in the swampy mangroves of Bombay. The religion is currently in crisis due to the decimation of the vulture population in India which was caused by a man made drug 'diclofenac'. The drug was used for pain relief of cattle, but when vultures fed on cattle carcass that had the drug in its blood stream they got liver disease and died. No vultures = slow decomposition of the corpse

Antilla is a residence on Billionaires row on Altamount Road in Mumbai. It is considered the most expensive residence in India with an estimated value of US$ 4.6 billion. It is 173m tall covering 27 stories and is home to billionaire Mukesh Ambani, richest man in Asia and the 9th in the world

My man in Mumbai

Dhobi Ghat is the largest open aired laundry in the world. Founded in 1890 by the British, it is located next to the Mahalaxmi railway station and has it's very own viewing platform

Dhobi Ghat

Mumbai's CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus)

Bombay's Victoria Terminus (VT) sounds better

The Regal Cinema on Colaba Causeway was built in 1933 and if I had more time I would definitely have bought some popcorn and watched a film here

The Woodside Inn on Colaba Causeway, going to meet a man about a dog, or a ticket even!

CM delivers once more as he produces my 2500 Rupee ticket for the T20 at the Wankhede

Gokul Bar and Restaurant is renowned for being a cheap institution, with present company it's no surprise that we are here on the ground floor, as upstairs has A/C and is dearer!

Day2: Elephanta Caves and Cricket

Big Steve reporting from the Gateway of India. The monument was erected in 1924 to commemorate the landing of the imperial majesties, King George V and Queen Mary for the King's coronation as the Emperor of India 2 Dec 1911.

Up early to catch the first ferry from Apollo Bunder to Elephanta Island and the Caves leaving at 0930

As we slip away from Apollo Bunder the Taj Mahal Palace comes into full view alongside the Gateway of India

Mumbai to Elephanta Island

After a 1 hour journey (10 Km) we arrive at Gharapuri or more commonly known as 'Elephanta Island', a name adopted by the colonial Portuguese because of an elephant statue that used to be on the island.

180 steps up to the caves

Spreading a little sunshine everywhere I go

(and 1000 Rupees for the selfie) 😂

The entrance to the Main Cave where inside are statues of Shiva in various forms, some were sculptured as early as 5-7th centuries AD. It is one of the lost important cultural sights in India and the cult of Shiva.

The main cave is 39m deep and features many sculptures

Natraraja - The Lord of Dancers

Yogishvara - The Lord of Yoga

Shiva Linga Shrine

Trimurti Sadashiva - Three faced Shiva depicting 3 aspects of Shiva: the Creator, the preserver and the destroyer

Entrance to Cave No 3

Travelling in style

On the way down from the caves there are dozens of stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs

Approaching Mumbai with the Taj Mahal Palace, the Taj Mahal Tower and the Gateway of India dominating the skyline

Lunch at Leopolds on Colaba Causeway, the café is one of the Iranis cafés which were opened in 1871 by Parsis who originated from Persia, now in modern day Iran

Leopolds has been made famous by the novel ' Shantaram ' by George David Roberts, set in the 1980's where the café features as a den of inequity frequented by tourists, local gangsters, whores and wealthy Indians. Sadly it is probably more infamous for being one of the scenes of a coordinated terrorist attack in the city in 2008. On 26 Nov two attackers opened fire on the café killing 11 people and injuring 28, inside the café is littered with bullet holes

The upstairs bar

The famous downstairs bar

The Shantaram novel is on sale here

After lunch I walked from Colaba to the Mockingbird café, passing the famous Oval Maiden and admiring the park cricket being played in the shadow of the Rajabai Clock Tower

The Mockingbird Café on Veer Nariman Road is a meagre 850m from the stadium

Gate 2 of the Wankhede Stadium is named of Vinoo Mankad who was former Captain of India. He is famous for running out Ozzie batsman Bill Brown at the non-striker's end in 1947. The play became known as 'Mankading', a term used for when the bowler runs up but doesn't release the ball and takes out the non-striking batsman's wickets instead. Dirty!

Cricket Riot Squad bus

Gate No 7: Mumbai Hockey Association Gate

A view from the concourse

The Wankhede Stadium is home to the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. It was built in 1974 and has a capacity of 32000, where most of the seats have unimpeded views. The stadium has played host to some important matches over the years, such as the 2023 CWC Semi Final against NZ which India won by 70 runs and the 2011 CWC Final when India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. It also was the venue of legendary talisman, Sachin Tendulkar's last game.

High in Block C of the Divecha Pavillion. Vithal Divecha was a respected cricket administrator who was the secretary of both the MCA and BCA before the city changed it's name

England win the toss and decide to chase

Vijay Merchant and the Sachin Tendulkar Pavilions

The North Stand straight ahead

The Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar statue. The inscription reads: "Your batting made time stand still and India stand tall. Sachin, you are our national treasure"