BENGALURU: They say all roads lead to Rome! Rome, the ancient city famed for its sprawling stadia — Circus Maximus and the Colosseum — where charioteers and gladiators once emerged victorious. With Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinching the Indian Premier League in a history-making win, 18 years in the making, all roads now led to the hallowed M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Following the epic victory over Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad, the thoroughfares surrounding Chinnaswamy spread their arms wide to scenes of jubilation. Bengalureans from every walk of life joined in, waving RCB flags as they walked, others in packed cars hooting and cheering, stepping out of their vehicles to celebrate the moment together.
Minsk Square became a hub of celebration, with at least 50,000 fans and counting. Whistles, shrill screams, and loud huzza filled the chill of the night air. It was midnight.
The eerie quiet of the Central Business District at that unearthly hour was drowned by the rising tide of RCB euphoria. Motorcycles, scooters, autorickshaws and cars snaked toward the stadium via Queen’s Road, Infantry Road and Cubbon Road, with riders cheering, blasting music, and honking in rhythmic celebration. MG Road and Brigade Road turned into a sea of red, and revellers spread through the city.
Age held no sway. Young couples with sleeping babies in tow passed through the ruckus, the little ones oblivious to the joy around. Children perched on their fathers’ shoulders soaked in the towering spectacle of the night.
A sleeper tour bus, stranded in traffic near Manekshaw Parade Ground, joined in too — its passengers alighted to dance as the driver played DJ, blaring the horn in musical bursts.
Youths climbed on to car roofs, fists thumping the sky, while older fans whistled into the night, its deep blue hues painted with sparks of red and yellow. Fireworks added dazzle to the midnight sky, lighting it up with RCB’s name — etched now in the stars above its sacred ground, Bengaluru.
Virat Kohli’s emotion in that moment became one for the ages — inscribed in the hearts of generations who waited 18 years for this triumph. In India, cricket is a religion. And here, in Namma Bengaluru, RCB is not just a team — it’s an emotion, roaring louder than ever in that triumphant chant: “Ee Sala Cup Namdu!”
