Gujarat Titans impress Punjab Kings' home crowd in Mohali

Deepankar Sharda

Mohali, April 13

Beating the heat, a sea of spectators reached the IS Bindra PCA Stadium to watch Gujarat Titans take on hosts Punjab Kings here today. Like the previous matches, the stadium once again witnessed gathering of fans beyond its actual capacity.

Riding high on a perfect batting performance by local lad Subhman Gill, who scored 67 off 49 balls, Gujarat Titans defeated Punjab Kings by six wickets in a last over thriller.

Contrary to expectations, Punjab Kings scored only 153 runs in their innings. The fans were seeking more from the hosts, however the Gujarat Titans bowlers performed well.

Partibha Arora, a spectator, said, “I came to see Hardik Pandya in action here. I like his way of captaincy and the way he handles pressure. Its’ due to his captaincy, the Punjab Kings scored only 153 runs.” She added, “It is always a pleasure to watch cricket at Mohali. Such huge number of spectators is not easy to handle, but the authorities could have done more for our (spectators) comfort.”

“There should be a proper check at all entry gates to stop gate crashing incidents. Also, many a times, security personnel stop spectators from standing and cheering for their favourite team,” Akhil Mahana, another spectator, said.

Maninder, another spectator, said, “I am disheartened after watching the Punjab Kings’ performance. I expected them to perform better at home. The top order failed to impress, despite being familiar with the local conditions. They only scored 153 runs. Nevertheless, I hope they play well against Bangalore here on April 20.”

Meanwhile, the security inside and outside the venue remained on high alert in order to avoid any untoward incident. The spectators have to cross various check points before entering the stadium.

Players’ families, actors watch live action

Family members of Punjab Kings’ Arshdeep Singh and Gujarat Titans’ opener Shubman Gill came to witness the match live at the stadium. Both Singh and Gill represented Punjab in domestic circuit. Before playing for India, both played for Punjab Cricket Association in various age groups tournaments. Bollywood actors Arbaaz Khan, brother of Salman Khan, and Sonu Sood were also here to witness the cricketers live in action.

Spectators wearing black T-shirts inconvenienced

Spectators wearing black T-shirts were asked by the Punjab Police personnel to either remove the T-shirts or change them even though there was no prior announcement in this regard.