
Gargi Raut in Mullanpur
The IPL season is coming to an end, with the Qualifier 1 and Eliminator done and dusted,the IPL show now moves to Ahmedabad. Royal Challengers Bengaluru have made it to the Final after a dominating performance against the home team, Punjab Kings, while Mumbai Indians brought their A-game against Gujarat Titans and won the Eliminator in a thrilling showdown.
RCB continued their winning streak in away games as fans predicted a title win for the team. Although, here in Mullanpur, PBKS fans outnumbered RCB fans—a rare sight in the IPL. Throughout the tournament, whenever RCB play an away game, it is a given that the fan-favourite team, consisting of Indian cricket’s biggest brand, Virat Kohli in the lineup, will outnumber the home crowd. But this time it was different. PBKS, ahead of Qualifier 1, ran a social media campaign where they asked the local crowd to come out in full support of the team and the local crowd obeyed.
PBKS fans brought the energy even in Mullanpur’s scorching heat. A day ahead of the match, fans had lined up in the middle of the afternoon to get their box office tickets, with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees. On the match day, queues had started forming outside the stadium as early as 4 pm for a 7:30 pm game. The fans showered their new captain, Shreyas Iyer, with love and admiration as many said that they have never seen the franchise perform so well.

While the fans did not leave any stones unturned in their support for the team, PBKS eventually lost out to RCB in a one-sided affair. But the fans remained hopeful, claiming that the team is destined to win the title this year despite the disappointing performance in the qualifiers. Many said that even if PBKS did not go on to win the title, they would not be disappointed because of the way that Iyer has led the team.
On the second night, fans once again thronged the stadium, while the ratio of Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans fans was almost 50-50, there was one common factor—Shubman Gill. Many fans had donned the GT jersey and had come out to support the team just because the local hero and the new Test captain was leading the side. Two fans, who were government teachers by professor, claimed they belonged to Gill’s native village and narrated the story of how the young cricketer is now investing a huge sum of money in building a cricket ground back in their village.
As the IPL caravan now heads towards Ahmedabad, one thing remains constant and it is the passion of the fans; the heartbeat of the tournament. Whether it’s a sea of red and gold rallying behind RCB or a sea of blue for Mumbai Indians’ quest for glory, or even the support for homegrown heroes like Gill, the 2024 season has been a celebration of the fandom’s spirit. In the end, it is the fans who make the tournament what it is.