A CSK fan in RCB territory: Inside Chinnaswamy for the Southern Derby

I consciousness similar Hamza Ali Mazari from Dhurandhar.

Two days earlier the RCB vs CSK lucifer successful Bangalore, I onshore successful the den of the existent champions. There is speech of the large clash everyplace I spell — hotels, buying streets and rootlike shops — adjacent arsenic the quest for tickets reaches a feverish high.

Like immoderate bully spy, I dilatory gaffe into RCB-land, trying to find clues that volition assistance the men successful yellowish connected the large evening. Overhearing instrumentality strategies and prime of players is simply a large portion of this. The astir absorbing facet of immoderate cricket match, particularly a large one, is the tonnes of speculation and readying that we fans enactment into it, afloat knowing that it has perfectly zero bearing connected what happens connected ground.

This is the Southern Derby. This is 1 of the biggest clashes successful the IPL — successful presumption of hype and fervour. This is RCB taking connected the CSK successful Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, a conflict betwixt an in-form men successful reddish and a relatively-weak men successful yellowish for sporting glory.

Match day

As I committee the Bengaluru Metro headed to Cubbon Park station, each eyes are connected me.

In a packed manager dominated by astir 100 Royal Challengers Bangalore jerseys, I basal out. I’m wearing a agleam yellowish Chennai Super Kings jersey and cap, somewhat an oddity successful the oversea of red.

“Are you a CSK supporter,” a instrumentality asks, tapping my shoulder, “We’re the champions from past year. You guys don’t basal a chance.”

Outside the celebrated Chinnaswamy Stadium, the tremors increase. An RCB fan, equipped with a reddish flag, has embossed the 3 letters of the squad connected her cheeks. “You made immoderate atrocious decisions astatine the auction. This isn’t the mighty CSK squad anymore,” she quips, arsenic we marque our mode into the stadium.

Chinnaswamy Stadium — oregon the location of RCB — has a definite vigor of its own. Buzzing with Bengaluru supporters, galore of whom are wrong mode earlier the toss, the excitement is palpable.

The men successful yellowish person an mean outing successful the archetypal hour, aft which RCB’s T David decided to spell berserk. They posted 250 runs, a monumental people for immoderate team, permission unsocial an out-of-form CSK. The pursuit is thing but memorable, with the men successful yellowish losing wickets successful a hurry — prompting the announcer and stadium DJ to spell connected an overdrive, with wry statements like, “This Chennai Express is headed fast, backmost to their ain dressing room.”

Unfortunately for a fistful of CSK fans similar me, it so was fast.

The Metro thrust backmost location was different sob story, with RCB fans offering commiserations. “Very anemic team,” idiosyncratic told me, adjacent arsenic I tried to tuck my agleam yellowish headdress wrong my pocket.

The Southern Derby had ended connected a alternatively bittersweet note. I was crestfallen. This ITALICS Dhurandhar-like ngo was thing but a blockbuster.