Thaindian News

Bangalore, May 8 (IANS) Bracing a late hot afternoon, thousands of die-hard fans flocked to the Chinnaswamy stadium Sunday to watch the tall West Indian Chris Gayle of home team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) swing his heavy bat for sixes and fours against Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) in the Indian Premier League.

The frenzied fans, however, had to wait a bit longer to see the Gayle force hitting the stands as Tuskers’ captain Mahela Jawawardene won the toss and elected to bat.

Though Gayle joined RCB midway after the home team won the opening tie against Tuskers April 9 at Kochi but lost three games on trot subsequently. Gayle was hot on form with dazzling centuries against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) April 22 in Kolkata and Kings XI Punjab here Friday.

When in full flow, the West Indian is a delight to watch. Gayle has hit a whopping 20 sixes and 24 boundaries in three games, including one here against Pune Warriors April 29.

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Royal Challengers turn to green jerseys for a cause

RCB walked into the field sporting green jerseys and flannels, swapping their branded red and gold attire to do their bit for a cleaner and greener environment.

According Royal Challengers Sports Ltd director Sidhartha Mallya, son of tycoon Vijay Mallya, the green jersey, signed by the team members, will be auctioned and proceeds will go to their green initiative.

Before the game started, the RCB team took the green pledge towards a greener lifestyle near the pavilion to thunderous applause and cheers by about 20,000 fans.

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Real fans get scorched while privileged ones bask in shade

With the sun beating down hard on the eastern stands, the majority of the fans who coughed up Rs.250-500 per ticket, had to bear the brunt of the summer heat while the privileged ones, especially those who had free passes and complimentary tickets, were lucky to watch Tuskers bat in shade as they were seated in the western stands and in the pavilion under a roof.