Live From the Brabourne...

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Along with many of my friends I was present on Brabourne Stadium on 20th March to watch the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) & Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Today, I will post about how the match was set up & this is how I saw the match...

"याचि देही याचि डोळा":
Have you seen the God? You must have worshiped some religion, but what about seeing the God in front of you..? Well, I must say, "YES" is my response to the above question. I SAW SACHIN TENDULKAR, THE GOD, DIRECT- IN FRONT OF ME... Of course, there were other Gods of the likes of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Jack Kallis, Sanath Jayasurya etc whom I could see but after the divine innings of 200*, Tendulkar is the undoubted 'the God'! In all, there were many international players whom I saw playing yesterday-"याचि देही याचि डोळा". That was a dream came true...

The atmosphere before the match begun:
Outside the gate number 7, I saw huge crowd in line trying to enter in the stadium earlier than their co-supporters. Even there, crowd cheered "Sachin~~ Sachin, dhan dhan dhan; Sachin~~ Sachin, dhan dhan dhan..."
There were many NEWS channels' vans, police vans & crowd. After the routine security check-up, we entered inside the stadium premises. We were welcomed by the stalls of MI & RCB franchises. They gifted some fancy items like crowns, flags & few items like T-shirts & caps were for sell. Then-after, we colored our faces by tri-colors & MI colors as we supported MI. That was followed by stalls of mineral water & cold-drinks. As bottles were not allowed inside, we emptied it before we entered.

Inside the stadium:
There was another security check posts & once we cleared it, we were onto stands of the stadium. Match was scheduled on 8pm but we had checked in at 6:30pm. So, there was ample time to observe & feel the excitement before the match. Both the teams were practicing different skills- batting, bowling, fielding. Senior players were 'reading' the pitch. Once in a while, organizers played famous tracks to keep crowd geared up for the upcoming match. Lights were turned on at 7pm & then players started to practice with even more dedication. We were in the stands searching for our own favorite players. Some pointed at Sanath, few on Rahul, and so on...

The match & action:
Sachin won the toss & elected to bat first, made the crowd to go crazy! Within 20 minutes from the toss, Sachin & Sanath walked inside to begin the play. RCB players had taken their positions & umpire signaled "play". Crowd could brake all decibel limits...! The cheered each single run scored by MI. Even a defensive shot was cheered like someone has hit a huge six... Sachin's 3 fours in a row, Rahul's Kaamal ka katch, Tiwari & Virat's batting were few of the land-mark performances. At length, Jack Kallis was the Ace player again for RCB. I assume, the details & stats of the match are already known to you.

The Cheer Girls & Entertainment:
The most exciting part of the seating arrangement was that I was exactly in front of the RCB cheer-girls. How exciting..! ;) Before the players entered in the stadium for the match, cheer girls of the both side were welcomed by the on-ground-commentator. Needless to say, crowd just loved their entry!!! The girls were very good looking, well dressed and of course were capable of dancing & 'cheer up' the crowd. After every over, girls would come on platform- set up for them & dance on any track played. When their respective team had a 'citi moment of success' they rocked the floor. Meanwhile, between Strategic Break, organizers played different songs & also team songs etc. They had few competitions between the innings break to keep crowd's interest inside boundary. Once in a while we could here "Raise The Cheer Whistle- tana-tadana-nana". In all, the IPL game was a real entertainer by all means. It can make a shy, silent, sophisticated persons to go mad & crazy in the ground..!

Finally, going to the Brabourne Stadium was indeed a very grand, cheerful, lively experience. I could observe 'behind the screen' events. What happens between the overs.., what do the players do when opponent players gets out.. Or between the break.. How do they appreciate huge cheer for them..? All that I was able to experience. This will remain as the life-long memory in my heart.

Hats off to IPL..!

By, Abhijeet.