BENGALURU: The scenes outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium drew a visual narrative on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Fans, who stood in long queues to get inside the venue with painted faces and waving Tricolours, dominated the proceedings as Bengaluru geared up for its first international cricket game — second Test between India and Sri Lanka — after the Covid pandemic. When buses carrying both the teams proceeded towards the main gate, fans cheered them on, showing their excitement, love and craze for the gentleman’s game.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was no different with fans chanting their favourite players’ names, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, from the stands. With the venue hosting its first day-night Test match, the commentators and ground staff in pink Nehru jackets and polo neck tees also added colour. Even before the game began, chants of Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dominated proceedings as he walked towards the field.
As if that was not enough, the disk jockey (DJ) played some peppy music to liven the atmosphere. It was a great sight to see the Bengaluru crowd thronging the stadium for the longer format, which has declined in popularity over the years worldwide.
‘Crowd was hungry for big sporting event’
“The longer format does not have such a response. But being a pink ball Test, day-night contest and a weekend added to the colour. The crowd was actually starved for a big-ticket sporting activity. Bengaluru wants to have live action and that’s why they have thronged the stadium,” said KSCA secretary Santosh Menon. When the action unfurled, the pitch did not live up to the expectations with the ball turning from the first hour of play. Sixteen wickets fell on the opening day, which is the most for a daynight Test.
“On this wicket, whoever defended the ball, they were nicking,” Iyer said. “The wicket was not that great and the mindset was to come up with a positive batting display.” Meanwhile, a sixer from Rohit Sharma hit a 22-year-old youth, who was taken to hospital , and t reated as an outpatient. The autobiography of India legend, GR Viswanath, who hails from Karnataka, titled ‘Wrist Assured’ co-authored with senior journalist R Kaushik was launched late evening.