All roads lead to Mohali

MOHALI: A sports storm swept the PCA Stadium as people from nook and corner of the region poured in to watch Kings XI Punjab take on Delhi Daredevils in their inaugural match on Saturday. The chant was omnipresent ' 'Balle Balle King's XI, Punjab is here!'
Having slogged for six painful hours in the fields at Rajpura, Jeetinder Singh reached Mohali with an IPL match ticket in his hand.The youngster was here along with his band of friends just to cheer on Kings XI Punjab during this magical night. And Jeetinder was not alone! It seems the entire Punjab had descended on the stadium. While for some it was the Yuvi factor that did the trick, for many others, Preity Zinta's charms and dimples were enough reason to travel miles to witness the actor in her element. ''Having worked hard the entire day, we came to see swashbuckling batsman Yuvraj Singh in action,'' said Jeetinder.
But it was fun for fun's sake for others like Mohit Kumar, an engineering student from Jalandhar. ''We are also supporting Delhi Daredevils but our heart is with KXIP,'' said Kumar, who was wearing KXIP shirt but waving a Delhi Daredevil flag in the stadium.
The support also came from the neighbouring state of Haryana. With Tricolour painted on their faces, excited groups from Panipat, Ambala, Sonepat and Karnal were spotted initiating the wave. ''We came just for the Punjab team. After all, it's a matter of honour,'' said Panipat resident Tilak Raj.
Adding a heady tadka to the match were Punjab's 'puttars' who danced to the beats of dhol. The two mascots of KXIP, Rocky and Ranjit Singh, couldn't resist and were seen shaking a leg with these true-blue Punjabis.
Breaking into a dance on every Punjab boundary, businessman Subhash Goel from Hoshiarpur screamed aloud, ''Once more, Sher-e-Punjab!'' The stadium echoed with 'phate-chak-deo Punjab!' when the KXIP boys entered the stadium, first for a brief practice session and then the batting.
supriya.bhardwaj@timesgroup.com