BENGALURU: Trust cricket to generate this kind of frenzy and euphoria. Excited fans, flags and banners, loud chants from supporters of the teams, serpentine queues outside the stadium, the pushing and shoving in trying to get inside quickly and fans getting painted on the cheeks in support of their favourite team etc. This is the typical scene outside any cricket stadium in India.
It was barely 6 pm, a good two hours before the start of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL match, and the roads outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here were absolutely packed. The police were out in full force. With the fans all eager to enter the Stadium, the police and security personnel were seen trying to convince people that they need to be patient. This was RCB’s first game this season.
Obviously, there were almost no supporters of the Sunrisers team as it was just a sea of black and red, the colours of the home team’s new outfit.
The RCB flags were all over the place. Vendors were trying their best to use the opportunity and make some money. Funnily, there was one person trying to sell India flags. It looks like he has not been following the proceedings that closely.
Once inside the Stadium, it was a similar story. The Chinnaswamy Stadium looked pretty full and the crowd kept swelling as the match time got closer. But with the Stadium not full, the roar of the cricket fans was nothing short of exhilarating.
The visiting side chose to bowl and it was a great opportunity for the fans to see their favourite RCB batsmen Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle in action.
The crowd could hardly wait for the action. And when skipper Kohli and Gayle stepped out to open, it was a whole new level of ecstasy.