With the sixth edition of the IPL, more famous as the Pepsi IPL, in full fervour, like the other major cities in the country, Bangaloreans are vouching hard and strong for the Royal Challenegers Bangalore, who as a matter of fact, are a very formidable side with the ranks of Christopher Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers going all guns blazing. Although, they started out their quest for glory half a dozen years back in a very unconvincing way, going meek at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders in their own fortress, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, now they look a lot more better and convincing. This year’s edition is perfect for the Royal Challengers to open their IPL championship account, and they sure need Gayle and Kohli to play anchoring roles respectively if they want to get anywhere close to realise the dream of every true Bangalorean. With all the teams save a couple looking in good shape and form, there’s some stiff competition out there. Every game and every point stands important. The Net Run Rate is the icing on the cake. And the astrologer predicts a string of close nail-biting encounters in the games to come. One thing that the doctor prescribes to the RCB side is to break free of the shackles they have been facing away from home. It has been one of the main concerns for the side this season. But there is another part of Bangalore away from all this which is not so prominent and does not care. Cheering for the local boy Rahul Dravid, this part of Namma Bengaluru says that no amount of Chris Gayle’s slaughter, Virat Kohli’s elegance or AB de Villiers’ innovation will shake their support for The Wall. A week back when the Rajasthan Royals flew down to Bangalore to face the Challengers in a good game, Mr. Dependable, as he is known among favourites, Dravid got a lot of homely support and warm welcome. Earlier this evening, when RCB missed out on RR in a close encounter, it did not hurt that much. Compared to the Mumbai debacle a couple of days back, it was negligible. A different viewpoint infers that the Wankhede crowd jeering and booing Virat Kohli aggravated the matter, but it does not count. Since two decades, we Bangaloreans have been supporting Dravid close to our hearts and will continue to do so, no matter where he plays, how he plays and whom he plays for. Meanwhile go R..C..B!
