Hyderabadis trooped in in huge numbers at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Wednesday to witness the Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Kings XI Punjab, with neither the heat, nor the abnormal prices of eatables in the stands dampening their spirits.
Cricket officials looked the other way as fans ended up shelling out Rs.90 for two samosas, and Rs.50 for a soft drink.
While those in the stands were victims of soaring temperatures, those in the corporate boxes took snaps on their flashy mobiles, with the intention of putting them up on the social media. Everyone looked eager to witness a contest between the foreign players in both teams: a duel between Mitchell Johnson and Aaron Finch, and David Warner, George Bailey, Glen Maxwell facing off against Dale Steyn.
A stunning silence descended on the venue when crowd-favourite Virender Sehwag was dismissed off the second ball of the match. Film star and co-owner of KXIP Preity Zinta was all passionate, waving the team’s flag even as the lensmen captured her different moods.
The fireworks were on show in plenty and it did not matter which side delivered them. There were dramatic moments too: when big-hitting Glen Maxwell was caught off a no-ball by Amit Mishra and then of the next ball, the dangerous David Miller was dropped by K.L. Rahul in the deep.
At the end of it all, fans were left pleased at the big hitting by less famous players like Naman Ojha for SRH and KXIP’s Wriddhiman Saha and Mannan Vohra.
