Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Live
Fans pitch for IPL in Lucknow!
Cricket buffs in the state capital are hopeful of seeing the first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) match of season-10 being played in Lucknow.
As per reports, the underconstruction Ekana International Cricket Stadium has been tipped to host a few matches in this season itself, if it is completed by mid April.
With the IPL trophy being showcased in Lucknow on Thursday and IPL officials visiting the Ekana stadium a day earlier to take stock of the construction work, the fans are hopeful of a positive outcome. The BCCI officials are due to visit the venue just before the start of the IPL season. “Let’s see what happens. Currently we are focusing on completing the work as soon as possible,” managing director of the Ekana Sports Udai Sinha told HT on Thursday, adding further, “All the teams are welcome to conduct matches here. We are busy giving finishing touches to the facilities.”
Away from this, fans at a famous mall thronged in large numbers to have a close look of the IPL trophy. The glittering trophy reached the state capital after travelling to nine cities. Now, it will be taken to Jaipur.
“We are eagerly waiting for IPL Season 10 to start,” young enthusiast Tulika Singh told HT soon after clicking a selfie with the trophy. “I had to push a few friends in the crowd to reach close to the trophy as the area was overcrowded,” she said. Over two dozen youths took part in different on-the-spot events during the trophy’s stay at the mall, a few girls raised the slogans for IPL and won small prizes too. “It’s my dream to see at least one match live here in Lucknow this time as I haven’t seen a live match ever in my life,” said one Vikas Tandon, who could not see the Gujarat Lions play in season 9 at a match in Kanpur, due to traffic jam.
“This time, I’m not going to miss an IPL match as I would be reaching Kanpur in advance for the May 10 match,” said Vikas, adding, “But, I would prefer to see a match live here in Lucknow.”
Meanwhile, actor Karan Kundra added Bollywood tadka to the event as he made a stopover at Gomti River Front and enthusiasts got a chance to capture perfect selfies with the trophy there also.