Visibly not playing to make a spot in the play-offs, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at least expected to win support of Ranchiites, the home ground for Shahrukh Khan’s team. But surprising for many, the ‘home team’ found more red flags than the deep blue in the arena!
The capacity crowd had more chants for Chris Gyale, Virat Kolhi and AB de Villiers when even a shot was hit for the fence. The International Stadium at Dhurwa busted when maradous Gayle hit the first six and the only in Bangalore’s, just on the sight screen in the eighth over of the match.
Support for the RCB can be felt from outside the stadium itself. More fans were either holding red flags or getting the colour painted on their chicks. Young girls, boys and even children were lined-up expecting Gayle hitting more sixes and less fours!
Adding to KKR’s woos, the RCB had a man from Jharkhand wearing reds, named Saurabh Tiwari. Huge cheer welcomed Tiwari but soon he left without scoring much, leaving the crowd a disappointed lot. The ‘home team’ tight blowing and purposeful fielding always kept a tab on the star studded bating line of RCB throughout the innings. Caption Gautam Gambhir kelp this fielders on their toes and discussed things with his bowlers quite frequently.
The match did not see expected busters as the RCB struggled from the start with just 50-odd runs on the board when half of the overs passed. The team was also tottering while losing important early wickets.
For their further disappointment, the big West Indian got out by his own countrymen and mystery bowler Sunil Narine when he stumped and given out by the Third Umpire. This time, showing some loyalty the crowd reluctantly clapped for the departure.
Most of the batsmen of RCB kept coming and going in a huff possibly forcing the viewers to switch finally to their own team with just 115 to chase down for Kolkata.
One more thing that attracted the viewers most was the cheerleaders! Whenever the ladies with short stuffs danced on the tunes of the teams, the crowd gathered in front of them without blinking and their mobile camera on. Though, the cheerleaders were given ample protection in the form of lady police constables around them in good numbers.