The national song Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, was played ahead of the national anthem Jana Gana Mana at an international sporting event for the first time, before India’s opening T20 International against Afghanistan in New Delhi on Sunday.
The move followed a directive from the Union Home Ministry, under which all six stanzas of were played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The national song lasted 3 minutes and 10 seconds, while the national anthem took 52 seconds, bringing the combined duration to 4 minutes and 2 seconds.
News agency PTI citing sources said Vande Mataram will now be played before the opening match of every home series.
“Vande Mataram will now be played at the start of every home series, before the start of first game,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
The issued guidelines on February 6 outlining the protocol for singing or playing Vande Mataram as part of events marking 150 years of the national song.
Under the guidelines, the official version of the song has been set at 3 minutes and 10 seconds. All those present are required to stand at attention during its rendition.
The complete six-stanza version has also been approved for select occasions, including formal government events attended by the President or Governors, broadcasts of presidential addresses on radio and television, ceremonies involving the National Flag being brought on parade, and other similar functions.
The first two stanzas of Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song by the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1937. The Constituent Assembly later accorded it the status of the ‘National Song’ in 1950.
With this marking the first time the song has been played at a sporting event, it remains to be seen whether both Vande Mataram and the national anthem will feature at the upcoming ICC events.
India began the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan on a winning note, cruising to a seven-wicket victory at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 82 and Arshdeep Singh’s three-wicket spell were the standout performances as India took a 1-0 lead.
After choosing to bowl first, India restricted Afghanistan to 156/8. Azmatullah Omarzai remained unbeaten on 64 to provide Afghanistan with a fighting total, while Arshdeep impressed with figures of 3/19. Axar Patel (1/27), Jasprit Bumrah (1/26) and Varun Chakaravarthy (1/16) also picked up wickets.
India made light work of the 157-run target, reaching 157/3 in just 13.4 overs. Abhishek smashed 82 off 32 balls, including seven fours and seven sixes, while Ishan Kishan contributed 42 off 33 deliveries, hitting five fours and a six. The pair added 121 runs for the second wicket to put India firmly in control of the chase.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 156/8 (Azmatullah Omarzai 64*, Mohammed Nabi 33; Arshdeep Singh 3/19) lost to India 157/3 in 13.4 overs (Abhishek Sharma 82, Ishan Kishan 42; Mohammed Nabi 2/28).
