3 days ago
IPL final: The war cry is loud and clear: Ee sala cup namde!
Bengaluru/Ahmedabad: As a late morning flight from Bengaluru touched down at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport here, the RCB! RCB! chants echoed through the aircraft along with the now forbidden eee sala cup namde slogan.
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With Royal Challengers Bengaluru making Tuesday's final against Punjab Kings, their fans have arrived in the city in droves.
Rohin Manish was barely two years old when IPL came into existence in 2008. But, from the time he can remember, it's the only IPL team he has followed.
In Bengaluru for summer vacation from the US, where he is majoring in psychology at the Penn State University, Rohin roped in his parents Mayank Manish and Jaya to watch the final live with him.
"With RCB in the final, there was no way I was going to miss it. We have a very balanced team, don't see a reason why we can't win the trophy," he said.
The trip required some planning and risk taking. Manish said: "We didn't know if RCB would take the Qualifier 2 route to the final. So, we had booked tickets for Saturday as well as Monday and let go of the former after they earned a direct entry into the final."
Rohin, who is also a Real Madrid fan, does a lot of juggling during the IPL season.
"Back in college I schedule my classes in such a way I get to watch RCB games."
Following the unscheduled one week break in the league, the final on a weekday, has meant multitasking for many Bengaluru techies, who are remotely working from here.
Sushil Shinde, a Bengaluru-based banking professional, who was seen balancing his laptop while picking up his luggage at the conveyor belt, wants his team to win it for RCB.
"
has been a constant driving force, and I hope they win it for him this year.
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Also, the wait has been too long and it's time to end the 17-year wait," said Shinde, who hails from Amravati in Maharashtra.
His friend Anirudh Singh was vivacious in his support for Punjab Kings and said: "Punjab has to win it for Preity Zinta (co-owner) and skipper Shreyas Iyer."
RCB's legion of fans travelled from across the border as well. Muttu Satish and his friends from Tiruppur near Coimbatore, all businessmen, made a last-minute dash to the Gujarat capital.
"It wasn't easy to get tickets, but we managed to buy thanks to an offer on a credit card. But we paid more for the trip than for tickets with the flight ticket prices skyrocketing. But I'm sure it's all going to be worth it because we want to be there for our team. While we would love to see RCB win their maiden title, we are also proud of their journey this season," said Satish.
By evening, the Narendra Modi Stadium was buzzing with RCB fans and their props, which clearly outnumbered Punjab Kings supporters.
