Virat Kohli was the main attraction of the night as the crowd roared every time he got involved in the game. (Source: AP)
There was a buzz around the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore drew the curtains on the league season of IPL 10. That ‘thrill’ was palpable even before a ball was bowled. Not because it was the last home game for the Daredevils, but becuase the city’s favorite son had returned home. (Results | Fixtures | Points Table)
Sunday witnessed a rare shift in fanbase as Virat Kohli’s RCB gave Daredevils a run for their money – not only on the field but also in the stands. Such a bipolar fan support has been rare in IPL history and the last time loyalty was split in such a way was when Sourav Ganguly led the now defunct Pune Warriors India to the Eden Gardens.
Despite a disappointing season by the home team, the 30,000-odd crowd at Feroz Shah Kotla had found their voice and roared with glee every time local lad Kohli ran out to the middle and interacted with the players. ‘Kohli Kohli’ chants could be heard even when the RCB captin was slogging it out in the nets for about half an hour. But this was just the beginning.
RCB began their innings with the mighty Chris Gayle taking the attack to the bowlers and hitting a couple of sixes. The loudest cheers, however, came every time the camera panned on Kohli’s face. For a moment even Gayle seemed amused.
The DJ at the ground seemingly sensed the shift in fanbase and tried his best to cheer the home side but his chants of ‘Dilli, Dilli’ was comfortably drowned out when Kohli walked in to bat at the fall of the first wicket.
And then, when Kohli smashed Amit Mishra for his first boundary of the night in the 8th over of RCB’s innings, the sound that erupted from the Kotla was deafening. An over later a six off Corey Anderson over the extra-cover sent the crowd into a tizzy. At that moment the entire stadium knew that they were in for something special.
Nevertheless,the loudest cheer of the night came when the local-lad finally reached his fifty. That moment showed how much love the city has for its prodigal son. The deafening silence on his return to the pavilion was another example of the above.
However, that was not the end. There was resounding applause every time the ball went to Kohli while he was fielding. When he took a catch of Sanju Samson in the first over, for one moment it seemed RCB was playing in its home ground.
Later on, when Kohli went to the field near the boundary the crowd just couldn’t have enough of him and went into a complete frenzy. That, however, had the security personnel busy for quite sometime as cameras and flashlights continued to beam at him.
Kohli finally acknowledged the cheers and that one moment in the 12th over of DD’s innings when he waved back at the crowd from long-on it seemed the fans had got all their money’s value and the madness was worth it.
The story, however, doesn’t end here. Interestingly, jersey vendors outside the stadium too celebrated the sudden rise in business. 42-year-old Amjad, who sells his t-shirts just outside the stadium said, “I have sold about 85 jerseys of Kohli in a couple of hours. But the Delhi jersey is short on demand. In comparison, I’ve sold only 15 of them.” That tells you the story of the day.
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