Confusion reigned at the stadium after news broke out around 2.30 pm that the BCCI had shifted the semifinals to Navi Mumbai.
The ticket redemption centre was to open at 8.30 am on Sunday, but cricket fans eager to watch the IPL semifinals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium had started queuing up at Gate 6 much earlier. Saturday’s explosions outside the stadium seemed just an aberration.
The centre opened only at 9.30 am, but they waited patiently.
The police found two explosives near the stadium. The fans, who were hoping Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would reach the semifinals, were not daunted. “I was here yesterday (Saturday) for the Mumbai Indians and RCB match,” said Saurav Das, an RCB supporter. “I heard about the explosions, but that is not going to stop me from watching the semifinals here,” Das said.
But, around 2.30 pm, they were devastated to learn that the matches had been shifted to Navi Mumbai.
“I had made all arrangements to watch the semi-finals,” Kunal Sagar, 23, who has not missed a single RCB match this season, said. “The news of matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium being cancelled is disappointing.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to shift the semifinals to DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai after the Bangalore police found two explosives near the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The first explosive was found around 9 am at Gate-1 of the stadium. It was later defused.
Bharath Kongovi, an RCB fan, was at the stadium when the explosive was found. “I was at Gate-1 by around 9 am with a friend,” he said. “We were supposed to get our members’ stand passes for the semifinals matches in Bangalore. I had no clue that another bomb had been found. Only when I returned home did I hear the news,” he said.
The other bomb was found near a billboard close to the stadium. Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) authorities immediately rushed to meet police commissioner Shankar Bidari, who assured them adequate security for the semi-final matches.
“We were confident of going ahead with the semi-final matches,” KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel said. We met the commissioner and he assured us he would sanitise the stadium and its surroundings before the matches,” Patel said.
Confusion reigned at the stadium after news broke out around 2.30 pm that the BCCI had shifted the semifinals to Navi Mumbai. KSCA officials had no clue of the decision since they had not received an official communication from the BCCI. But, when the news was confirmed, the tickets redemption centre put out a board stating matches scheduled at the stadium stood cancelled. It also announced that money would be refunded to those who had already purchased the tickets.
Some die-hard fans, however, have already started planning a trip to Mumbai for the IPL semifinals and finals. “I don’t want to miss the semifinals at any cost,” said Kongovi. “Some of my friends and I are already planning to go to Mumbai for the semifinals and the match for the third place.”
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