Bengaluru, March 28 After several months of uncertainty and deliberation, cricket returned to M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday through the IPL season opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the venue preparations ticking several boxes.
The stampede on June 4, 2025, which killed 11 fans during RCB's victory celebrations here, had jeopardized Chinnaswamy's chances of hosting cricket matches.
However, the newly-elected KSCA regime under Venkatesh Prasad worked tirelessly, holding numerous meetings with various state government departments to gain approval to host matches here.
There were two mock drills on March 23 to prepare all concerned for the IPL match, but even then, there would have been some apprehension, as dealing with a real match situation is entirely different.
However, from managing the crowd movement on adjacent roads like Cubbon Road and Queens Road to ensuring a more disciplined entry to the stadium, the evening had a relatively uneventful start.
"We have deployed adequate force to manage the crowd outside the stadium to prevent people from gathering near the gates. The stadium gates opening four hours before the match has also made our job easier," a top police official informed.
True to his words, the police officers on duty did not allow anyone to stand on the road for more than a couple of minutes, urging them to move to their respective gates.
Unlike in the past, there were more well-defined parking spaces away from the stadium, such as Garuda Mall and Freedom Park, from where fans could either walk to the stadium or take a drop.
The decision by RCB to sell around 80 per cent of tickets online eased the rush near the gates on the match day, a stark contrast from previous years when last-minute ticket hunters used to cram the avenues leading to the stadium.
Even the jersey sellers and temporary tattoo makers who used to roam freely were very limited in numbers and were restricted to specific areas of the roads.
The Royal Challengers management had opened ticket sales on March 24 at 4 pm, and all tickets were sold out within about five minutes.
Around 29,000 tickets were sold to the public, against a total capacity of 35,000.
In fact, there were more turnstiles and gates for fans to enter the stadium than in previous years, and the width of the existing gates was also increased to 9 meters to make the entry process easier.
However, a rather unfamiliar order was seen and felt everywhere near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, a sharp deviation from the past.
However, the unbridled excitement, electrifying on-field action, and the unstinting support for the RCB players did not change.
It was evident in the warm welcome they gave to Virat Kohli when he entered the ground for pre-match routines. The RCB players wore No. 11 jerseys during the warm-up drills, commemorating the 11 departed souls during the tragic stampede.
The teams, officials, and players observed a minute of silence in their memory, and the banner around the stadium flashed – "Forever in our hearts," which gave a solemn touch to the evening.
However, cricket is certainly back in Chinnaswamy, and the magic has not eroded one bit.
