The 'Wall' stole the show

Changing Loyalties

For once, Bangaloreans did not mind cheering the rival team.

The standing ovation received by Bangalore boy and Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Rahul Dravid on Sunday was a clear indication that the home crowd was divided in its loyalties. There was as much cheering for Dravid as for Chris Gayle. The supporters of RR, with their blue flags and tees, equalled that of RCB. But the crowd was visibly disappointed by the poor show put up by the RCB boys.

Most of the people were seen leaving the stadium much before the match ended. It was their way of protesting against the  poor performance. The stadium was filled to its capacity a good one hour before the match began. Being a weekend, many people chose to spend their evening at the stadium but little did they know that it would turn out to be a bad match. There was no dearth of sixes and fours but they did not come from Chris Gayle or AB de Villiers. Instead, they were from Ajinkya Rahane of the Rajasthan Royals as he changed the fortunes of the game in favour of RR.

 Barring Shivarajkumar and Ramya, there were very few celebrities in the stadium. Shivanna left before RCB started batting. He cited ‘other commitments’ as the reason for his early exit but pointed out, “It’s such a bad performance by RCB and a splendid game by RR. Quite disappointing with two losses in a row.” Ramya looked grim throughout the match.  But the ordinary spectators were there to have a good time.

They wasted no opportunity in making the best of the occasion. B J Chougule, a professional; his friend Suresh Ugargad and colleagues came all the way from Belgaum just to watch the ‘Wall’ in action. “This was Rahul Dravid’s first match in the City after his retirement and I didn’t want to miss it,” said B J Chougule. Suresh added, “Though we love RCB, we decided to shift our support to Dravid. Rahane’s performance came as a surprise. All the fours and sixes he hit were a pleasure to watch.” Shreyas Narayan and Jitendra Jain said they pinned their hopes on Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle but lost hope soon. “We have been coming for the IPL since its inception. It’s great to watch our favourite players live in action. Winning and losing are all in the spirit of the game,” said Shreyas. 

The IPL had also brought a lot of women to the stadium. Shreya and her close buddies Sushmitha, Mrunal and Supriya, wanted to have a good time. “We come to the IPL every year and although the match has been quite disappointing, we’re having a good time just hanging out here,” Shreya said.