My First IPL Match

It is an odd sort of coincidence though nothing earth-shaking but within a span of a few days I visited two sports stadiums. On Sunday evening I witnessed my first IPL match at the new stadium at Uppal. Today, a little while ago I had lunch at the Fateh Maidan Club inside the Lal Bahadur Stadium. When I saw the LB Stadium after having been to the Stadium at Uppal, I realized how small it appears. It is really very small compared to the new one I had been to on Sunday.

I saw my first cricket match at a stadium almost thirty years ago. I don’t remember the year but I remember India was playing against the West Indies. The only name I remember is that of Lance Gibbs who, if I remember correctly, had a goatee and was a feared spinner. I had been to this match with my elder brother and the stadium happened to be the LB Stadium. I am not a big cricket fan so don’t much remember what that match was all about and who won or who lost. After that I never saw another cricket game again though I would catch bits of one day tests on the television now and then.

Then again, on Sunday I witnessed India’s newest entertainment spectacle- the IPL 20-20 Cricket matches. A friend gave me free tickets to the match between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. Sachin Tendulkar was playing and my good friend thought my son would find it a great experience to watch the legendary batsman in action. So I went in the evening to the new stadium at Uppal with kid in tow.

The road to Uppal was jammed with cars and bikes. There was total chaos. Everybody was parking their bikes and cars wherever there was enough space though there was a huge ground inside for parking the vehicles. We weren’t allowed to take anything, not even water bottles inside. I would soon find out why. I kept my mobile phone inside my bike.

We got in easily and had some kind of pink colored wristbands tied to our wrists. I later realized it was to prevent people from switching to other stands. Only Hyderabadis can think of doing something like that. Guys and girls dressed in pink with walkie-talkie sets rushed around all the time. The Stadium, though half complete was H-U-G-E. It was full house and the match had just begun when we took our seats.

Luckily, Sachin was at the crease but was out after a few magnificent shots. I am not much of a cricket fan so I looked around at the people while the game went on. There weren’t many oldies around. Everyone seemed to be under thirty and dressed in killer clothes. They all had that excitement on their faces that comes from witnessing something unique and wonderful.

I had read that the prices of the food items inside the stadium were high. The report wasn’t incorrect. A glass of water cost Rs 5, cool drinks in 350-ml cups cost fifteen bucks and a single roll (chapathi with curry roll) that one could get for twenty bucks at Sangeet cost fifty rupees. You had to pay for every thing. I was glad they didn’t charge me for using the toilets. Maybe they’ll get the idea to do so when they realize they need to do more to recover their investments

The local team, Deccan Chargers, perhaps in line with the Hyderabadi policy of being polite to guests lost the game to the visiting Mumbai Indians. The crowd didn’t appear disappointed that the team lost and it seemed as if it was only expected. The only excitement was when the local lad, Venugopal Rao hit a few balls into the stands and also, when Sania Mirza appeared on the screen briefly.

The cheerleaders were modestly dressed but it was the Indian cheerleaders I found to be rather good with total desi, bollywood moves. Strangely, the Indian cheerleading team had two guys and two girls compared to the all-girl American cheerleaders. So that was my first IPL match and I don’t think I am prepared to watch another game.