The IPL Experience!!!

This year the sweltering summer heat has lost its way to delhi/NCR…all thanks to the cool western disturbances which have brought unusually pleasant weather in April-May. Every few days we see light rain and thunderstorms……resulting in pleasant evenings……

feroz shah kotla stadium, delhi

and on one such evening faiz took me to watch the IPL cricket match between Delhi Dare Devils and Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium…….

jam packed stadium

I was not a very big fan of the Indian Premier League earlier but after experiencing  it….i can’t stop gushing with excitement………..this new format of cricket is super entertaining and watching it in a stadium is far far better than watching on TV….the atmosphere in the stadium is fully charged…..the big screens…banners, flags, drums, music, cheer leaders all add color to this extravaganza. I was a bit apprehensive of the crowd and the seating arrangements at the stadium…..we reached the venue early so did not face much crowd while entering…plus the free ride from parking lot at Shanti Van to the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium was such a relief…..

dirty seats at the stadium, it's difficult to find a clean one.

we made good use of free placards which were handed out to us for covering the dirty seats at the stadium…..……well u can say that everything about IPL is related to money, money and more money….the stadium was jam packed with almost 40,000 people…..and the tickets started at 750 Rs. We weren’t allowed to carry any food items inside not even water….so the vendors inside made good money as no one could sit there for six hours without water and food......each small glass of water cost 10 bucks and after a few glasses we stopped counting……So u can imagine the kind of money ppl spent for watching a single match and can only wonder how much money the IPL guys will make in the entire series….but the money spent is all worth the entertainment….the delhi dare devils were on fire…and the sixes and fours kept coming and thrilling the audience!!

match in progress

The Mumbai Indians and specially Sachin were a huge disappointment….the crowd cheered and bowed and stood up for sachin but the li’l master failed to create magic on the ground………….m glad that delhi won…….n won in style!!!  After six hours of cheering, shouting, waving and clapping…we were  so tired we wished we could just make a huge leap and land directly on our car seats….but then came the worst part…..suddenly all the 40,000 tired ppl at the stadium started rushing out towards the exit to be the first ones to get out…..n there was this huge human sea of ppl filled on the exit lanes……after walking a certain distance…...i realised we weren’t walking anymore…we were actually getting pushed…..we had three small kids in our group which made me panic even more…… thankfully we reached our cars safely……then a lonnnnnnng drive home……..we reached home at 1 in the night……..extremely tired but v v happy to have been a part of a spectacular event!! :)

For those who are planning to go to watch IPL at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, here’s a little info which you may find handy :

Try and reach the venue early and by early I mean atleast two hours before the start time of the match…..we started from noida at 4:30pm and reached the venue by six…n the match started at 8 pm. We found nicely placed seats and also got to watch the players’ practice session! Being late will make it v v difficult to find a good seat which means u will have to settle for the last rows n keep standing all thru the match to get a better view…..so better reach early!!! J

The parking facility at Shanti Van is quite good and there are free rides (bus) available from there to the stadium gate. There are several entry points so make sure u remember to get down at the correct gate no., else u may have to walk a lot.

Do not buy flags from the vendors outside b’coz the security ppl at the entry point throw away the sticks holding the flags to avoid any violence inside…….and in any case there is no point buying any placard as all these things are distributed free by the sponsors once u r inside the stadium. (we got placards of sixes and fours by Panasonic, and nice red color hoods by vodaphone……u can also get the flag of ur favourite team painted on ur face for twenty bucks!!)

four placard from panasonic

the vodaphone hoods

You cannot carry any food items or water inside the stadium. But u r allowed to take baby food and milk bottles, tissues, diapers, etc.  for infants. Remember that u cant take any plastic carry bag inside so please bring ur stuff in an environment friendly carry bag made of paper, jute,etc. Also purse, handbags , etc. are not allowed so either don’t carry any at all or leave them in ur car.

If u have hyper kids under three years of age then be prepared to spend all your time trying to keep them happy as they r not interested in the match and will get thirsty and hungry all the time giving u frequent trips to the food and water counters……u wud rather sit at home and enjoy the match on TV.

When the match ends, do not rush to get out of the stadium just wait until the crowd clears, else u will get caught in a human sea where there can be fair chances of a stampede..god forbid…..

Once outside the stadium, be prepared to walk back to the parking at Shanti Van which is a good 2-3 km. There are no rides or autos or rickshaws available at that unearthly hour.

But all said n done....u must must must go n experience the thrill n excitement of watching the match live in a stadium!!! it's all worth the pain!!  :)