I had always wanted to see a live cricket match in a crowded and noisy stadium. Seeing a fifty over match was out of the equation. Advent of Twenty - 20 in the cricketing world aided my desire. The Champions League was inaguarated in Bangalore. Only after the starting ceremony, it struck my dumb mind that I have missed out a great chance to relish the opening ceremony of a tournament. Man, I didn't want the opportunity to go waste this time. So, I got a bike from my uncle to commute to the ground. Only the cheapest ticket available on the sale was on my mind. It also helped in keeping my already famished wallet hale and healthy. Reaching the Chinnasamy stadium was a great achievement itself. (My uncle had earlier warned though!!) . The stadium was unbelievably bright in the first impression. Crowd was going berserk. Energy of the crowd rubbed into me. I started to cheer vociferously only to realise later that my voicebox has taken the toll. I forgot the teams which were playing that night (Damn the teams!! I went there to relish the environment and the euphoria of the Indian cricketing crowd!!) . Anyway, the match was between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Otago Volts.
RCB started the innings slowly but didn't lose many wickets. RCB innings reached the peak in the last over when Ross Taylor hit 24 runs. The only disapointment was that I couldn't see Rahul "The Wall" Dravid bat. I was praying that Brendon McCullum would go after the RCB bowlers. Again Lady luck failed me. He miserably gifted his wicket within three balls. Otago Volts batsmen fell like a pack of cards to RCB bowlers especially Anil "The Jumbo" Kumble. The bubbly cheer girls were at their dazzling best at the start of the match and slowly faded away with the match. Colourful is the word that had to be associated with the fireworks. Kudos to the DJ team who kept the entire crowd on their legs. It is because of them, the crowd's energy passed on to the RCB team, who were really mediocre till that match. Whoo.. What an experience was that.. Really looking forward for another match in Bangalore (Bengaluru)!!
The 2018 US Concert Tour and lessons learned
4 years ago