IPL fever grips Port City

Visakhapatnam: IPL fever hits the city with cricket fans from all over the city and enthusiasts from Odisha thronged at Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium during the Eliminator match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on Wednesday.

The atmosphere at the stadium turned orange and blue with a tinge of yellow in between. Most cricket lovers in the city supported SRH, while the fans from Odisha supported DC along with Visakhapatnam supporters.

The crowd which had a mix of first-timers and regular stadium-goers was nonetheless pumped-up to watch the live action in front of them.

Y Chanukya Reddy from Maddilapalem looked very excited to watch a cricket match in stadium for the first time. He said, "My friend and I got lucky because someone sold two tickets worth Rs 3,500 each for Rs 2,000. I delighted to see Rashid Khan's magic today."

Wearing the jerseys with Rishab Pant and Shikhar Dhawan on their backs, huge number of DC supporters from Odisha cheered their idols. N. Raghav, a cricket patron from Rayagada, said "I have lived in Delhi for two years and got attached to the city and Delhi team in IPL. With the likes of Sehwag's dashing opening in the past and explosive batting of Rishab Pant now, there's always someone I like in Delhi team."

The 'Orange Army' supporters almost made the stadium look like a home ground to Sunrisers. "The chances of SRH winning today are pretty high. We won the cup in 2016 and made it to the finals last year which shows our consistency in the tournament. If Manish Pandey scores big and Rashid takes a couple of wickets in the middle, it will be a cakewalk for us into Qualifiers II," said M Ramesh, an SRH fan from the city.

Dhoni fans also made their way to the venue to see which team will play against CSK on Friday. S Suresh Reddy, who watched almost all the international matches played in the city, said "Dhoni is like God of cricket to me. Today, I came here to see who will play against CSK in Qualifier II."