Cricket carnival returns to tech hub with a bang

Bangalore: With the season's first Indian Premier League (IPL) match played under lights at the Chinnaswamy Stadium late Sunday, the cricket carnival returned to this tech hub, as over 25,000 frenzied fans packed the stands to watch the host team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) captained by local lad Rahul Dravid.

Though the league match is the third being played here by RCB, the first two against Delhi Daredevils April 7 and Kolkata Knight Riders April 10 were day-night fixtures (4-7pm) during peak summer when the hot and humid weather kept most of the fans away from the venue in the heart of the city facing the famous Cubbon Park.

"It's not only a weekend night, but much cooler to come here and watch the game for fun and entertainment. It's a good break from Sunday boredom," 21-year-old Vasant Kumar, a techie, told IANS in the eastern stands.

Organisers relieved over IPL sell-out, popularity

The return of fans in droves to the stadium even for a late night match made the hosts - the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) - and IPL organisers feel relieved, as over 90 percent of the tickets were sold out for the first time this season and the popularity of the short version of the game remained intact.

"All tickets for lower stands in the eastern and northern sides, priced at Rs.400 and Rs.1000 were sold out by evening. As the match began at 8 p.m., the western and southern stands, where tickets are priced higher - Rs.1500 upwards, got filled up. Even complimentary passes got exhausted," a KSCA official said.

Even as police personnel and private security guards deployed by the organisers had a tough time in controlling the fans in the stands and restive crowds outside as they could not get in for want of tickets, traffic snarls on all roads leading to the stadium stranded hundreds of cars, buses and two-wheelers.

Fans root more for Dravid than host team

For a change, die-hard fans of the host team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) switched their loyalty and rooted for local lad Rahul Dravid, though captaining Rajasthan Royals (RR) for the first time in this IPL season.

The popularity of Dravid, who retired from international cricket last month, has not diminished a bit, as was evident from the standing ovation he got when he walked into the middle for the toss with RCB captain Daniel Vettori.

When Dravid won the toss by calling tails and opted to bat first on a batting-friendly pitch, fans in the jampacked stadium stood with resounding clapping that drowned his comments to the television anchor.

"Dravid is our hero for ever. It does not matter where he plays or whom he leads as he is a local lad and we grew up watching him play for the city, state and country over the last two decades. We have a special place for him in our hearts as he is not only a great batsman, but also a great gentleman of the game," 43-year-old R. Venkatappa, an industrialist, told IANS here.(IANS)