BENGALURU: Last week, the yellow weather alert for the city turned orange. Bengaluru was soaked in rain and Wednesday, day 1 of the opening Test match between India and New Zealand, was rained out without a ball being bowled.
Yet, it did not deter the legions of ardent cricket fans of Bengaluru. They returned the next day to watch their team being bowled out for 46. Although the home team's score was low, the spirits of the 17,000-odd people who braved the weather remained high. The sport-loving city, which last witnessed a Test match in 2022, lapped up the action. This, despite the below-par facilities at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the stands were unkempt, food was scarce, and entry was a nightmare.
While they backed their team, they did not fail to acknowledge or give a standing ovation when New Zealand's Matt Henry picked up a five-wicket haul or ‘home boy' Rachin Ravindra scored a century. There is a lot of noise about the decline of Test cricket, but the people who thronged the stadium here silenced that. Bengaluru fans' unwavering support came in for high praise from India skipper Rohit Sharma after his team's eight-wicket loss. "Absolutely brilliant," he said of the crowd.
"Hats off to the crowd. Even though it was raining, I could see everyone sitting in the stands waiting for the game to start. It was a very passionate crowd, as we have seen in Bengaluru over the years. They love the game and their team. For them to just come here and keep waiting for the match to start shows the kind of passion they have," Rohit reasoned.
Expressing his gratitude to the fans, Rohit added, "It's very important to us when they come out there, wanting to watch us and win the game. We're very grateful to have people like that watch us play."
The fact they left their fans disappointed did not miss the opener. "I could still sense the crowd wanted us to win the game and they were right behind us, which is what you expect in India. We don't take our spectators for granted. We respect them and understand how much of a role they play in our success as well," he said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Manuja Veerappa is a sports and features writer with 19 years of ...
Read MoreManuja Veerappa is a sports and features writer with 19 years of experience. She has covered a repertoire including World Cups in cricket and hockey, Commonwealth Games and world championships in billiards and snooker among other major events. An alumnus of one of Bangalore's most prestigious institutions, Bishop Cotton Girls' School, she represented Karnataka in hockey at the national-level.
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