BAHRAIN-BASED fans of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT), the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises who will clash tonight in the final of the world’s leading domestic T20 tournament, are buzzing with excitement as they make plans to watch the match on television.
The IPL is considered to be one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world with a TV viewership in hundreds of millions around the world as well as a mass following in India where life comes to a standstill across the country every time a match takes place during the more than two-month-long tournament.
And tonight, CSK and GT fans in the kingdom will forget about everything else from 5pm onwards because they will be glued to their television sets, watching defending champions Gujarat take on four-time winners Chennai at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“There is no doubt in my mind that CSK will win the cup!” Mohamed Hussain Malim, 55, a Chennai native who moved to Bahrain 40 years ago, told the GDN. “And there is no doubt, also, that (CSK captain Mahendra Singh) Dhoni will lead his side as brilliantly as he has always done.”
However, Taral Parekh, 44, who hails from Rajkot in Gujarat, has lived in the kingdom for 13 years and works as a senior executive for a leading telecom company, thinks that GT have a better chance of winning their second consecutive title.
The reason, he said, is captain Hardik Pandya’s astute captaincy.
“Pandya is considered the new ‘Captain Cool’ because of the way he handles his players,” Parekh, who plans to watch the game at home with friends, told the GDN. “He gives us the impression that he is going to be the next Indian captain.”
But another Chennai native, Elango Jeyaprakash, 46, who has been based in Bahrain since 2004, is sure that CSK will easily win their fifth IPL title.
“I am hoping that they do win!” Jeyaprakash, who works as the general manager (GM) for an international construction engineering company, laughed as he spoke to the GDN. “Because it’s my birthday today and my cricket-mad, 13-year-old son, Aakash, has invited his friends over to watch the match and, if CSK win, we will have a double celebration!”
Meanwhile, Rajesh Joshi, 57, a GM for an international elevator company who has lived in the kingdom since 2007, told the GDN that he was very sure GT would win the final.
“Everything is stacked in the home side’s favour,” Joshi, who plans to watch the game at a friend’s place, explained. “Home conditions, a packed crowd of more than 130,000 people cheering GT on plus the fact that CSK have lost all the games they have played in Ahmedabad so far.
“Also, GT have Shubman Gill who has scored three hundreds in his last four innings. I have a feeling he’ll score another big one tonight!”
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