After rain gives jitters, fans enjoy IPL Eliminator at Mullanpur

After the Mullanpur show got over today, the Indian Premier League (IPL) caravan moved to its final phase in Ahmedabad, leaving behind memories to cherish for fans as they enjoyed two Playoffs for the first time at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) International Stadium.

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Like the Qualifier-I between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Eliminator between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans was also played to a jam-packed stadium as fans cheered for both sides.

“I missed watching yesterday’s match, but was lucky to get a ticket for today’s tie. I am am a supporter of Mumbai (Indians) and am happy to see them reach Qualifier-II after beating Titans. The MI side has played very well lately and hope them to see in the final,” said Anshul, a young spectator.

Hours before the match, a heavy spell of rain across the city did give jitters to the fans. However, by evening the sun came out shining and the match was on. “Early spells of shower were not a good sign. I thought the Titans would move directly to the Qualifier-II without playing a single ball. However, the weather took a drastic turn and the sun ruled the sky in afternoon,” said Richa, another spectator in the stadium.

“It was amazing to watch the star-studded Mumbai side here. I am a big fan of Rohit (Sharma) and Suryakumar Yadav. It felt great to see both live in action,” added Bhavna, another spectator.

Better crowd management

After incidents of gatecrashing were reported in the last match, crowd management was somewhat better today with police checking tickets at the first layer of security. Like yesterday, the stands were near empty initially, but got filled up as the match progressed. “The arrangements were better, but the parking problems persisted today,” said Rohan, a spectator.