This city has always welcomed any form of sports and when it comes to cricket the pitch of enthusiasm is on a different plane.
On Wednesday, all roads led to the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, where Delhi Capital (DC) met Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the eliminator match.
Traditionally, the city has been a SRH base since the erstwhile Deccan Chargers days.The stadium was bathed with SRH jersey of orange and black with a sprinkling of the DC blue.
Though the match was scheduled to begin form 7.30 p.m., people were seen streaming into the stadium from 4 p.m.
“I wanted a good vantage point and moreover, there are parking issues also and that is why I had gone early. Moreover, I wanted to even see the players practising before the match, so that I could get a clear glimpse of them,” said Rohit a die-hard Shikhar Dhawan fan. Shikhar plays for DC.
From about a kilometre before the stadium hawkers were seen lining up on both side of the National Highway selling jerseys of SRH and DC. Painters with colours and brushes were seen hurriedly painting the logos of the teams on the face and body, as demanded by the fans of the respective teams.
‘Dada’ in demand
Despite having retired from active cricket a few years ago former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was cheered whenever he walked into the ground during the pre-match session. Sourav is now the mentor for the Delhi Capitals.
High-voltage contest
Being an eliminator match, it was a high-voltage contest and in tune with demand of the crowd the match began with a bang, with New Zealand pacer Trent Boult of DC claiming the wicket of fellow New Zealander Martin Guptill (SRH) in the very first over of the Match. But the decision was reversed in the review and he (Guptill) went on to notch up 36 runs with four sixes in 19 balls.
Whenever, the batsman hit the ball for a six or four, the crowd was instantly on their feet and cheered the batsman, despite from which team he belonged to.
“That is the beauty of IPL. Though I am a big fan of Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant and both play for DC, I am a SRH follower. So we appreciate good cricket in good ambience,” said Chakradhar, a cricket buff and MBA student.
IPL is entertainment plus cricket. There is good and hard fought cricket on one hand and on the other hand good music during breaks. We are now looking forward for the match on May 10, as CSK will play with Dhoni in the lead, said Rajeev Jain, a businessman.
9 held for sale of tickets in black
The City Task Force (CTF) personnel on Wednesday arrested a nine-member gang for allegedly selling IPL tickets of the SRH vs DC match in the black market near the stadium premises.
The police also seized 109 IPL tickets and ₹40,000 in cash and nine mobile phones from the gang. Sources in police said that the gang purchased the match tickets from some people and resold the tickets in black outside the stadium cashing in on the demand for the match.