Fever Pitch In Chennai As Cricket-Mad India Fans Return For Second England Test

Mask-wearing fans poured into Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium for the second Test against England on Saturday, as cricket-crazy India welcomed live crowds for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.

As many as 15,000 fans from India’s famously noisy and vibrant fanbase -- the largest in the world -- will be allowed to watch each of the Test’s five days in the 50,000 capacity ground.

Officials are enforcing mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing, and temperature checks at entry points.

India has been one of the world’s most heavily-hit countries with more than 150,000 Covid-related deaths and the second-highest cases in the world, but fatalities and infections have slowed sharply and most activity is returning to normal.

Manikandan, a 40-year-old software professional who goes by one name, told that life without live cricket had been "very difficult".

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