Thousands of fans gathered to cheer their favourite team during the IPL finals, at Church Street on Tuesday.
Credit: DH Photo/PUSHKAR V
Bengaluru: The long wait was finally over and how.
Euphoria swept through the city streets as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinched their maiden IPL title in a tense final against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Tuesday night.
As dusk fell, waves of jubilant RCB fans flooded the city’s party hubs. The air was electric, the optimism contagious, and for once, the stars had finally aligned.
Many restaurants, pubs and even multiplexes screened the match and charged a bomb for it. Most were sold out.
But not everyone needed a seat to be part of the action. Hooked to their mobile phones in tight huddles or glued to giant screens, they erupted with every RCB boundary and every PBKS wicket.
Cries of ‘RCB’, ‘Kohli’ and ‘Ee Sala Cup Namdu’ reverberated through the air as the Bengaluru team finally lived up to the fans’ expectations.
Firecrackers lit up the night sky when PBKS’s two dangerous big-hitters — Marcus Stoinis and Nehal Wadhera — fell in the 17th over. The party had begun in the morning itself. Many fans arrived from other towns, some visited temples to make one last prayer, and superstition ran high.
Magic number 18
For believers, the signs were everywhere: Virat Kohli wears jersey number 18. This is IPL’s 18th season. The date (3-6-2025) totals up to 18.
Charan Raj, 29, and his friends came all the way from Hassan to cheer on their team.
They had reserved 10 seats at a restaurant on BEL Road, paying Rs 2,000 per head, Raj
said.
“Naavu beelalla, tale baagsalla, munnuggi aadtivi’,” said Askhay B, a techie from Yelahanka, referring to the RCB’s title song (neither will we fall nor will we bow, we’ll surge ahead and play).