The Border-Gavaskar Trophy may be over, but the love for cricket refuses to rest — even at Melbourne Airport.
A viral TikTok video has captured a group of Indian subcontinent taxi drivers engaged in a spirited game of gully cricket at the Melbourne Airport parking lot, proving once again that cricket is more than a game; it’s a way of life for many from the subcontinent.
The video shows drivers making the most of their waiting time, as the TikToker wittily observed: “When your turn doesn’t come for almost three hours because of the sheer number of taxis, you’ve got to do something to pass the time.”
With tennis balls and makeshift stumps, the taxi drivers showcased skills honed through years of “gully cricket” — the informal and wildly popular version of the sport played on streets, narrow alleys, and open fields across India.
In the Indian subcontinent, gully cricket is a cultural phenomenon. In bustling metropolises like Mumbai, players dodge honking cars and pedestrians, while in smaller towns, dusty maidans (open grounds) host fiercely competitive matches.
These games often feature improvised rules, such as “one-tip-one-hand” catches or boundaries made of parked scooters, adding a unique charm to the sport. It’s here, on these humble pitches, that cricket dreams are born — a testament to the game’s grassroots appeal.
An Australian comedy film, starring Indian-Australian Pallavi Sharda, Save Your Legs! (2012), portrays an inspiring and humorous journey from Australia to India.
The film tells the story of a man determined to save his local park cricket team from the challenges of adulthood. Blending comedy, cricket, and Bollywood music, the film was an uplifting adventure that captures the spirit of chasing lifelong dreams across cultures.
Even with the high-octane rivalry of the Border-Gavaskar series behind us, the passion for cricket is alive and thriving among the Indian diaspora in Australia. This unexpected cricket pitch in a Melbourne Airport parking lot reminds us that, while test series are contested fiercely on grand stadiums, the true spirit of cricket is forged in the gullies and maidans where it all begins.
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