Ajay Patil and his friend Chetan Bachaav, part of a group of 24 MI fans who travelled here from Nashik to watch their favourite cricketers, were excited to witness the WPL-4 opener.
RCB fans Prem Sangar (left) and Akshay Sangar
When Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur arrived at the ground on the eve of their WPL-4 opening game on Thursday, the India captain had said: “DY Patil is always very special to all of us, [and] we love coming here.”
Fans too feel the same way, as was evident on Friday with all roads leading to the stadium for the MI versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) tournament-opener. A large crowd turned up for this match and credit for this increasing popularity must go to the Indian women’s team’s maiden ICC ODI World Cup triumph at this very ground last November. In fact, most seats in the house were filled up much before the start of the game.
Nashik-based MI supporters Chetan Bachaav (left) and Ajay Patil. PICS/SUBODH MAYURE
Ajay Patil and his friend Chetan Bachaav, part of a group of 24 MI fans who travelled here from Nashik to watch their favourite cricketers, were excited to witness the WPL-4 opener.
“We tried to get tickets during the Women’s World Cup final, but failed. This time, we managed to get all the 24 tickets we needed for this game. We took leave today [Friday] from our respective offices to come for this game. I’m expecting Harmanpreet to bat well and help MI win today,” Bachaav told mid-day before the start of the match on Friday.
Interestingly, there were many fans sporting Virat Kohli’s RCB jersey. The RCB women’s team skipper Smriti Mandhana had her fair share of fans too. Kolhapur-based Prem Sangar and Akshay Sangar travelled all the way specially to watch their favourite women’s cricketer Mandhana. “We have come here to support RCB. Virat is our favourite cricketer, as is our Sangli star Smriti. We are confident RCB will win today,” said Prem.
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