The clock struck 6 PM. Something was about to change in the skies above in Bengaluru: Dark and angry clouds were about to give away to incessant rain. Just like that, in a matter of a few minutes, the Chinnaswamy stadium in the heart of Bengaluru was lashed with rain.
With thousands and thousands of fans entering the stadium, there was some chaos outside of it. Those narrow footpaths and massive peepal trees make it tougher for the fans to navigate to the stadium, especially when there are rains around. From a close distance, one could notice some confusion as RCB’s supporters as well as daily dwellers tried to find any kind of shelter to avoid being drenched in rain. It has to be remembered that this stadium was built in 1974. Lots of changes have taken place in the city since then.
After some jostling, there was a sigh of relief as soon as yours truly entered inside the stadium. Unfortunately, the narrative of persistent rain pelting Bengaluru didn’t change. All that the fans could do was to patiently wait for the rains to go away. There was a little bit of cheer when Virat Kohli’s name came up on the electronic scoreboard, with his test numbers being shown on the screen in the backdrop of his retirement from that format. Incidentally, despite Kohli retiring from Test cricket, most of RCB’s fans had decided to don the franchise’s jerseys and not the white flannels.
Returning to Bengaluru rains, it stopped for a few minutes at 8.30 PM. At that moment, one could hear loud cheers as the umpires made their way to the middle. A couple of super soppers too also were employed to clear the water. In this context, the Chinnaswamy has an excellent drainage system – SubAir system.
So, there was an air of expectancy among the fans that the match would commence soon. Someone up there, though, had other ideas. In just around 15 minutes, the heavens opened up once again and it rained for at least the next two hours. Barring a couple of chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’, the crowd remained muted. Ultimately, at around 10.25 PM, players from both sides shook hands and the game was called off.
So, the resumption of IPL, after a 10-day break, turned out to be a damp squib. Intriguingly, the rains did relent 15-20 minutes after the game was abandoned. Simply put, it was a night where mother nature had the final say.