Frenzied fans flock to stadium for Bengaluru IPL bash

With the rain gods taking leave and dark clouds keeping away, about 35,000 frenzied fans flocked to the Chinnaswamy stadium in the city centre on Sunday for a cracker of a contest between home team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in an IPL-8 T20 league tie.

With the tournament's second match in the city being played on a Sunday night in pleasant weather under floodlights, thousands of fans queued up at the entry gates of the stadium an hour before the game began at 8 p.m. to ensure a vantage seat in the stands and enjoy the carnival atmosphere charged with drum beats, rock music and loud cheers.

"We are happy there is no rain threat to the match and the weather is fine for fans to fill the stadium, befitting a weekend night. All tickets were sold out and complimentary passes were in great demand from influential people, especially members and sponsors," a Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) official told IANS.

The unprecedented security measures, however, upset hundreds of fans, as they were told to switch off mobile phones and were not allowed to take chargers, bags, water bottles and other objects into the stands.

"In the name of security, police and security guards harass us a lot by making us go around the stadium to enter the stands, frisking two-three times and preventing us from taking our belongings inside. It's a relief we are allowed to take flags, buntings and banners," Suresh Kumar, a college student, said.

With one side of the northern road blocked for the metro rail project, about 20,000 fans in the eastern stands, which are earmarked for lower-priced tickets, were made to walk at least one kilometre to enter through the gates, as parking was banned around the stadium and vehicular movement was also restricted.