Frenzied fans bat for India against defiant Ireland
March 6th, 2011 - 6:12 pm ICT by IANSBangalore, March 6 (IANS) Thousands of frenzied fans Sunday trooped into the Chinnaswamy stadium here to back co-hosts India against an upbeat Ireland in a Group B league match of the cricket World Cup.
In contrast to the forlorn look and near empty stands for the England-Ireland game Wednesday, a carnival-like atmosphere gripped the stadium, with hundreds of fans waving the tri-colour, sporting colour bands and wearing blue T-shirts to imitate their 11 men in blue in the middle.
After Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field, the Indian players were greeted with cheers and applause as they took positions to take on the fiery Irish batsmen.
And when speedster Zaheer Khan bowled out Irish opener Paul Stirling in the first over and Ed Joyce was caught behind by keeper Dhoni for 4 in third over, the stands were electrified with die-hard fans in raptures, hooting and dancing.
Unlike during the high-voltage India-England encounter last Sunday (Feb 27) when the atmosphere was surcharged with impatient fans storming into the stands to watch the home team bat first, an eerie calm and order prevailed as captain William Porterfield and keeper Niall O’Brien steadied the scoring.
In the pavilion stands, about 300 Irish fans in colourful dress and fancy caps were seen cheering their resurgent team, which scored an upset victory against a beleaguered England in the previous match with its all-rounder Kevin O’Brien scoring the fastest World Cup hundred.
With about 3,000 policemen swarming around the stadium to maintain vigil and chase away ticketless fans from gate-crashing, touts and blackmarketeers had a field day, making a quick buck by selling low-priced tickets to desperate spectators on the sly.
Though the main host Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) claimed that all tickets were sold out for the third day-night ODI in the city, rows of empty chairs in the western and eastern stands were conspicuous even a hour after the game was underway on a hot but breezy afternoon.
- Bangalore set for cracker of contest - Mar 06, 2011
- O'Brien wary of strong Indian batting, bowling line-up - Mar 04, 2011
- Canada take on Australia in near empty stadium - Mar 16, 2011
- Yuvraj steals the thunder from defiant Ireland (Diary) - Mar 06, 2011
- Fans root for underdogs Kenya at Chinnaswamy Stadium - Mar 13, 2011
- No takers for England-Ireland match - Mar 02, 2011
- There could be a good turnout for England-Ireland match - Mar 01, 2011
- Spirited Irish fans back minnows against England - Mar 03, 2011
- An Irish buzz on the eve of their match against India (Preview) - Mar 05, 2011
- World Cup stunner: Ireland score upset win over England (Third Lead) - Mar 03, 2011
- England elect to bat against Ireland - Mar 02, 2011
- West Indies will be wary of fast-improving Ireland (Preview) - Mar 10, 2011
- England left looking like a pub side against Ireland: Brit press - Mar 03, 2011
- Kevin's blazing century inspires historic Irish win (Intro Roundup) - Mar 03, 2011
- Yuvraj stars with bat and ball to take India home (Roundup) - Mar 07, 2011
Tags: b league, captain william, colour bands, cricket association, cricket world cup, dhoni, ed joyce, eerie calm, empty chairs, empty stands, frenzied fans, impatient fans, indian skipper, irish fans, ksca, o brien, paul stirling, raptures, tri colour, zaheer khan