Giving the devils their due

All good things have to end, and so did the winning streak of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday. That was what struck the fans as the RCB’s four-in-a-row run rampage was brought to a halt by the power and might of the Delhi Daredevils.

But the equanimity was not so visible among the crowds, which cheered the home team till the end. There was a gloom in the stadium towards the fag end of the match and people were found walking out way before the match ended. The moment the fans reconciled to the fact that RCB would lose, they packed up their bags and headed out.
There was a presence of a good number of  Daredevil fans as well — all dressed in blue tees, bearing blue flags they cheered and roared to compete with the howling of the RCB fans whose cheering was drowned in all the excitement. Those supporting Daredevils lost no chance to boast how well the team had done and how they were sure that today was theirs.

While Deepika stayed on right till the end, Ramya and Puneeth headed out early. Somehow, the charm was missing and the team too seemed to take it a little too easy, is what most of the onlookers had to say.

The Delhites, working in Bangalore, were all for the Daredevils, “I knew right from the start, just after a few overs, that Daredevils would win. It’s nice to see them win in a different State. I am on a holiday in the City but I made sure I took time off to attend the match,” says Ankita Vishal, a student. 

Archana, a designer for a mobile company, says, “It’s been ten years since I’ve watched a match live. But the magic of the IPL is incomparable to any other. Even my grandmother gives up her serials to watch the match, such is the impact.”

R Vikas, an engineering student with BIT says he has invested more than Rs 70,000 on buying tickets for all the nine matches. “I made sure my entire family comes to watch the match. It’s sad that the RCB has lost but let’s not lose hope,” he says.

K Muralidhar, a customs official was seen walking out way before the match ended. “It was a tough game and the RCB lost wickets regularly. Most of our best players were out earlier than expected. I just wished we had been a little more cautious,” he reasons.

There were some true-blue RCB fans who were still hopeful that a miracle would happen and the RCB would emerge victorious. “My hope for the RCB will not change. The match has been very challenging,” says Nikhil, a BBM student from Jain College. Nithin who has played for the KPL and was closely monitoring the match says, “Once the RCB had lost three wickets I had a gut feeling that they would lose. It will be interesting if they do win from this point but the chances are slim.”  

The RCB losing out did leave those not so enthusiastic about cricket disappointed, “This is the first match I came to watch. The experience has no doubt been a great one but if they had won, it would have been memorable,” Soumya Muralidhar, a homemaker wraps up.