Hyderabad: The Rajiv Gandhi Interna-tional Cricket Stadium here is bathed in blue and yellow colours as the finalists of the Indian Premier League — Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings — slug it out on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma winning the toss drew the loudest cheers from the Blues while the Yellows doubled the decibel level when Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s name flashed on the big screen when the team lists were being announced.
The stadium was packed to its full capacity of 35,000. There were families, groups of friends and middle aged enthusiasts who came in good numbers to see the match.
The crowd beat the heat and came in on time by 6 pm for the 8 o’clock match wading through the high level of security and screening.
Flags, T-shirts, bands and other accessories of the two teams sold outside the stadium were quickly picked up by fans cheering on their favourite team.
Some enthusiasts made with charts paper cut-outs of the numbers 4 and 6 to demand their team to make these runs. The cheering was continuous for every ball hit.
The city's pubs, hotels and restaurants were also packed with fans who saw the match on the big screens specially set up for the final, while enjoying a drink or a meal.
Those watching the match at home clubbed together to make it into a community viewing. Roads were blessedly empty as everyone was indoors stuck to TV screens or at the stadium.
