Fans root for Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in LSG’s den

It’s expected to be a full house at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Monday and Wednesday as the LSG are set to take on the RCB and CSK, respectively.

It’s expected to be a full house at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Monday and Wednesday as the Lucknow Super Giants are set to take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, respectively.

RCB captain Faf Du Plessis and Virat Kholi and Glenn Maxwell during a practice session in Lucknow (Deepak Gupta/HT)

Virat Kohli (RCB) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (CSK) will be playing for the first time ever in Lucknow. Both have never played any international or league format game in the city, so the excitement here knows no bounds.

“We are rooting for the home team, but our heart lies with Dhoni and Kohli. I will surely want LSG to win and lift the trophy, but the fact remains both of my favourite players are beyond any league. I will be wearing an RCB jersey for Kohli and CSK one to support my favourite Dhoni. I am just looking forward to cheer Kohli and Dhoni both with full enthusiasm, once I see the ‘gods of cricket’ on the field,” says Anant Kanchan, who is pursuing engineering and has procured the stands ticket for both the matches.

KL Rahul-led LSG will take on MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow on Wednesday.

The Lucknow stadium has a capacity of 55,000 spectators and for both these matches ticket prices have already been increased. “From ₹349 to ₹12,999 the prices now start at ₹1,250 till ₹30,000 (LSG lounge). The ticket that I bought for ₹500 for Hyderabad match this time for the same stand I have bought at ₹2,700. But I have promised my son to take him for an RCB match, so I had to,” says Rajesh Sikka, a businessman.

A source from the LSG team says the franchise are expecting a full house for all the three upcoming matches. “After rains on Sunday the weather is a bit pleasant. Also, Lucknow has the best rainwater drainage system so even if we get a brief spell of light rain, we can still expect a game,” he adds.

The spectator at Lucknow stadium usually wears a blue jersey to support the local team lead by KL Rahul but in coming matches the scenario will be different. “We have huge demand for Kohli, Dhoni and Rohit (Sharma) t-shirts. It will be interesting to see the support for Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai teams while playing against Lucknow in the home ground,” says a t-shirt vendor in Nazirabad.

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