Cricket fever grips Jaipur as IPL stages a comeback

Colourful wigs, vuvuzelas and flags to cheer for Rajasthan
The cricket league returned to the Pink City on Wednesday, after 2013, but rain played a spoilsport for the major part and brought the match to a halt for almost two and half hours. However, the Rajasthan team did not disappoint its fans and registered a victory as it defeated the Delhi team by 10 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Cricket fan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Pankaj Sharma/BCCL)
Cricket buffs started gathering at the North gate of the stadium from as early as 5pm. While some flaunted colourful face paints,others wore T-shirts inspired by their favourite team and swirled the Indian flag and cheered for the players while standing in long queues.
Poorva Soni got her face painted on the spot (Pankaj Sharma/BCCL)
Poorva Soni, a school counsellor, who got her face painted on the spot, said, “We are here to witness the ‘Halla Bol!’ by the Rajasthan team. Delhi ko yahan kaun poochega, humara Rajasthan hi jeetega.”
ALL HAIL RAJASTHAN (L-R) Jojules, Val, Cathy and Chris from England cheer for the Rajasthan team(Pankaj Sharma/BCCL)
Jojules, Val, Cathy and Chris, who came from England, said, “We are from England, and cricket is something we live and die for.” Cathy added, “Since we are on a Rajasthan tour, we support the Rajasthan team and it is going to win as we are bringing it luck.” Huntih, 13, a gymnast from Australia attended the match with her dad, Shannon, despite an injured leg. Shannon said, “We are here to support a friend – Daniel Christian,an Australian player who plays for team Delhi. He plays from my club in Melbourne, so we are here to cheer for him.” Huntih added, “We couldn’t have missed the match when a friend and an Australian national is playing here.”
Ruchi and Divya donned colourful wigs as they cheered for their favourite team