For city cricket fans, deprived of watching Indian Premier League (IPL) matches live in their neighbourhood, the Fan Park concept of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come as a solace.
Amidst fun and frolic, hundreds of youngsters gathered at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium to watch the matches on a huge television screen measuring 32-ft width and 18-ft height. Adding to the buzz was booming themes songs of the franchises. Chirpy commentary by female anchors enlivened the atmosphere.
Youngsters stood in serpentine queues to get the blue wrist band - the free entry ticket to the extravaganza.
The organisers laid a green carpet on which spectators were made to sit and watch the proceedings. To keep the youngsters occupied they dished out a good number of clubbers (inflated objects) to play with and also installed play courts such as virtual cricket. Face painting and selfie corners were also organised.
The massive sixes and fours smacked by the batsmen were met with huge roars and the boisterous moments were caught live for online beaming by the event managers.
While the crowd for the evening match between Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers was thin the night match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rising Pune Supergiants saw an encouraging crowd enjoying the pyro-techniques.
For office-goers and businessmen, the night match came as a relief as they headed straight to the stadium to watch the match on a huge screen.
“This fan park is coming to Vijayawada for the first time. We are here to get the feel of it,” says Koka Ramesh, Central Zone secretary of Andhra Cricket Association.
“It is nice feeling to watch this slam-bang format along with friends,” said Chaitanya, a video analyst with the cricket association.
Boisterous moments for youngsters at
first-such event
