Thaindian News

Bangalore, May 22 (IANS) On a cool Sunday evening with clouds playing hide seek, thousands of frenzied fans thronged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here to watch a titanic clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Though both the teams have qualified for the play-offs starting Tuesday, the 28,000 capacity stadium was packed to the brim for an exciting contest in the last league game in the city as well as of the home team.

As traditionally Bangalore rivals Chennai in many things, including cricket, the local fans are rooting for RCB to avenge their humiliating 21-run defeat by CSK in the previous encounter in Chennai April 16.

With Indian Test captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni playing in the city for the first time after winning the World Cup 2011 in Mumbai and the likes of Suresh Raina, Mike Hussey, Albie Morkel and Dwayne Bravo in the CSK side, the die-hard fans couldn’t ask for more.

After RCB skipper Danier Vettori won the toss and opted to bowl, the home team didn’t disappoint its devout fans, as its speedsters Zaheer Khan and S. Aravind ran through the CSK top order, setting the stands on fire.

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Carnival atmosphere grips city centre for the last hurrah

With Bangalore’s salubrious climate luring spectators out of their cosy homes on a weekend holiday, a carnival atmosphere gripped the city centre where the stadium is located across the famous Cubbon Park on one side and the upscale MG Road on the other.

Sporting RCB’s red flags, banners and jerseys, majority of the NextGen fans in their teens and twenties had a royal time watching a keen contest between bat and ball.

As every Super Kings batter fell way side one after the other at regular intervals, the fans went into tizzy, blowing trumpets, beating drums, waving flags, whistling, cheering and clapping.

Besides RCB owner and business tycoon Vijay Mallya, his prince-charming son Siddharth Mallya, Bollywood heart throb Deepika Padukone and Sandalwood heroine Ramya were among the celebrities in the diamond box and pavilion to watch the home team.

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Testing time for cops, vehicles as vendors, hawkers block traffic flow

With all roads leading to the stadium in the heart of this tech hub for the last league match of the IPL, about 1,000 policemen and hundreds of vehicle owners had a harrowing time in downtown, as scores of vendors and hawkers swarmed the entire area between Cubbon Road and M.G. Road for brisk business during the three-hour clash between the home team and title defender, causing traffic snarls and grid lock.

As the day-night encounter coincided with evening shopping hours, thousands of cars, state-run buses and two-wheelers vied with each other to get out of the area hastily in vain. The blocking of a main thoroughfare (a portion of Cubbon Road) for the ongoing metro rail project work has further worsened the traffic flow as vehicles piled up even on service roads and bylanes.

–Inndo-Asian News Service
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