I have been a cricketer since I can remember, so is every other kid in India. Cricket is a big deal in India and people follow it like a religion. Having played Cricket for both school and college, I really wanted to do was to watch a live cricket match, which I thought will become reality when I came to Bangalore in August 2013.
And I was right, that opportunity came within a year. Many reasons this game stood out for me – standing in line for hours to score the tickets, followed by the sheer joy, putting many thoughts in our outfit for the event, giving interview to a local TV channel, and witnessing a thriller that went to the last over of the game, with many twists and turns.
This story is filled with almost everything that you expect from a Bollywood movie.
So, let us start with how we got our tickets.
8-hour struggle to score the tickets
IPL has grown exponentially in terms of popularity. Sometimes, it is hard to score tickets of the initial stage, so, you can imagine the demand of the tickets for the final game.
I did not have to pursue my friends too much, as everyone wanted to be a part of it!
The tickets up for sale online were gone in a few minutes, so we were disappointed. The only option that we had was to stand in line at the stadium and get the tickets. I think, the idea of a night out with your close friends convinced us to go the hard way. This was an exciting night out, one which we will remember for eternity.
We knew it would be extremely hard to score those tickets if we show up just a couple of hours earlier than the window open time – 11 A.M. We had to be there way before this time. So, we decided that we would pack some food and our favorite “Chai” and spend some time with each other chatting, gossiping. This would definitely elevate our experience of scoring the tickets “the hard way”.
So, the five of us got three bikes and started off with our adventure.
We parked our bikes across the street from the stadium. When we reached the stadium, it was around 3 A.M. and we were stunned to witness the sea of people. We thought we were the crazy ones showing up earlier than everyone to score tickets. Boy, we were so wrong. After approaching the crowd, we were relieved to learn that that line was for the cheap tickets and the ones we wanted had only 50-100 people in it, so it surely brightened our faces with hope.
The five of us stood (or maybe sat) in the line and all the fun began.
I don’t remember exactly what we talked about but mostly it would have been some useless gossips that friends do. I still remember the constant laughs, and lame excuses of going out of the long line to stretch your legs. Thank goodness we had some Indian snacks and Masala tea to rescue us.
By the time it was 6-7 A.M., all of us were tired and just wanted the stupid window to open so that we could get our tickets and head home. The crowd was also getting impatient by the minute, the police protection helped to calm the situation down. Fortunately, they did not throw us out as we were with girls – the leverage you get only in India.
Feeling of accomplishment after scoring tickets
It was finally the time when “we heard” that they have started the ticket window. Obviously, we could not see from our spot, but looking at the other people getting off of the long lines with smiling faces and some paper in their hands, we figured it was time for us to get our hands on those tickets too. We all got ready with excitement and looked at each other. We would get the tickets any minute now.
For security reasons, the Police separated the males from female cricket fans; This worked in our favor and took us only 10 minutes to get our tickets as the gals reached the window sooner than us. We just gave away our money to them and voila we had our tickets in our hand.
The five tickets that you see below were the result of standing in line for more than 6 hours. I am stunned to imagine how we could pull this out. I guess, having some of your friends by your side helps soothe the pain.
What a great feeling it was to hold those tickets!
Making most of the game – special outfit for a special event
So, I did not expect to spend time on what to wear for the event. But, when you have two girls in your group, there is a better chance that you would end up doing that. That is *exactly* what happened with us; And, I am glad it happened, because the end results were super; I was, in particular, happy about it.
So, the idea originated from my then girlfriend. Actually, from her dad, to be precise. I think the idea of wearing a turban was tossed casually in one of the conversations. At first, I thought we would not be able to pull it off, but, as soon as we started exploring the COMMERCIAL STREET, the idea grew on me and I was sold.
If you have never been to CS, then, trust me, if you ever visit Bangalore, this is a must-visit place. CS market starts where your imagination about the traditional shopping ends. I have never seen the abundance of both quantity and quality of stuff that you can get from this place. Be it your everyday use or special occasion, there is a better chance that CS market has it and even for cheaper prices. You can get thousands of variety for wedding dress, facilitating the custom fit for individuals. Many places to eat, drink, and have a good time. I can go on, but you get the idea!
So, we went to one of the stores in CS market to try out some of their turbans. They mainly sold the wedding turbans but had a few less fancy. We tried a few of the less fancy ones and liked some. I was surprised that they were ready to rent it out to us for a mere INR 500. The rent charge was just INR 150. It was too good a deal to pass by, so we ordered a set of five identical red colored turbans and told the shop owner that we would pick those up the day before the game. It was as smooth as you can imagine.
The next step now was to coordinate our clothing (black pant, white shirt/kurta, and red turban) and head to the game.
5 minutes of fame – local TV interview
The IPL 2014 Final was held on a Sunday, June 01, 2014. We got up with excitement. It was the first live game of cricket for all of us, kind of a big deal for the group.
I put on my black jeans and the white kurta; This was topped by the red turban that we got from the CS market. I was ready within a few minutes, but, obviously we had to wait for the girls to get ready. Surprisingly, they did not take much time and we were on our way to the Cricket Stadium. The name of the stadium was “M Chinnaswamy Stadium”. When we arrived at the venue, we saw a sea of people flocking to the entry gates. Obviously, they did not let anyone stand in line for the gates as the game was still a couple hours away.
I remember the five of us standing in line for our gates to open and people were really giving us attention because of our coordinated outfits. We knew we were standing out and getting the deserved attention from the crowd. #millenialthings
We were having so much fun, which quadrupled when a local T.V. reporter walked up to us and requested us if we would like to give an interview for his channel. As a millennial, every one of craved for some attention and we did not even blink to nod in approval. Before we even know it, he pulled up his cameraman who was panning his camera to the crowd, and voila, we were in his “frame”, I’m pretty sure that’s what they call it.
As soon as the interview started, a flock of people just gathered around us, obviously to get that one moment of fame. In a country like India, where we have more than a billion people, a few seconds of fame is what we crave for.
Anyway, the reporter started the interview by mentioning us as stereotypical “Software Engineers” from Bangalore. He praised us for our attire; I think it was well appreciated by others as well. He went across the group and asked one question to each one of us, and it was over even before we know it. Till today, I do not even remember what he asked me and what my answer was. It is just a memory that I reminisce from time to time. We asked him which channel this will air on; Again, I forgot what he told us!
As soon as the interview ended and the reporter left, so did the crowd and we found ourselves moving closer to the entry gate for the game. Our line was moving swiftly and it took us only 10-15 minutes to get inside and occupy our seats.
Thank you, IPL – One hell of a game
When we bought the tickets to the game, we did not know the game will be a nail-biter. I was sure that it will be an exciting game, but, never imagined it being that close.
I saw my dream shaping before my eyes, as soon as I entered the stadium. The happiness and joy was unreal. You can see the excitement on my face.
Do you see some markers in my right hand? That’s right, we got those to create some “real-time” posters to improve our chances to get featured on the big screen, if our costumes were not enough.
A couple of us were backing the KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) out of love for Shah Rukh Khan, while the remaining three were in favor of the team Kings XI Punjab, and obviously for their cute owner Preity Zinta. The pundits and experts predicted KKR would win the contest easily. But, on the day like this, you never know what might happen.
I still remember the first ball of the game. I have played cricket my whole life. Be it the plastic ball, the rubber ball, or even leather ball; And, on all kinds of surfaces. But, nothing came closer to when I saw one of the the tallest bowlers Morne Morkel bowl the first delivery of the game. I was simply blown away. The ball traveled to the wicket-keeper faster than blink of an eye. It was insane pace and such high standards you could only witness at one of the biggest stages.
It was a treat to watch the game progress. We made sure we had a lot of fun. We tried really hard to get on the big screen, but we couldn’t as our seats were not in a great location and none of the cameraman panned in our direction. That was a bummer!
The whole game seemed irrelevant when it came to the last couple overs. KKR was on the verge of losing the game, and we were all standing up in our seats anticipating what might happen next. Then walks in Mr. Piyush Chawla. Nobody in their wildest dreams imagined that it would be him helping KKR cross the finish line with a couple of awesome shots. I still remember his sixer, followed by a boundary to seal the deal for KKR.
We all were jubilant, irrespective of the fact that our favorite team lost that night. It was a great feeling to watch such a thrilling game of Cricket. I was sad that the match and the IPL season was over, but was happy that I could witness the final and my first cricket match, ever.
We stuck around for the presentation ceremony, followed by SRK being himself and posing for the pictures. It was a fun night, which I will cherish forever.
I can still picture the traffic we had to fight to get to our place and the auto rickshaw that we hired. The next day was a Monday and we were “supposed to work”that day, IYKWIM. It was a fun experience!
Hope you had fun reading this. I will be back with another travel story when I traveled to Pune in August 2014 during the Indian independence day holiday.
stochasticity 