By IANS,
Chennai : It was “Yellow Fever” at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium as yellow jersey-clad fans of defending champions Chennai Super Kings thronged the arena to watch their home team take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the Indian Premier League-V here Sunday.
Waving yellow flags, Super Kings’ fans created an euphoric atmosphere inside the stadium, which was packed to the brim for the first time this season.
The Knight Riders fans were completely outnumbered and their saving grace was the occasional jig by the team’s star owner Shah Rukh Khan, who was cheered at the top of his voice.
The spotlight was always on Shah Rukh, who sported an unshaven look, and was accompanied by his wife, children and friends from Bollywood.
A good start made by the hosts added to the festive atmosphere. The men in black and purple have had little to cheer as Chennai posted a huge score.
This is Super Kings’ fourth appearance in the final in five seasons. They thrashed Delhi Daredevils in the Eliminator match by 86 runs to romp into the finals.
Super Kings are two-time defending champions and fans came in number to witness their team trying to make it a hat-trick of titles.
Some extra 12,000 tickets were sold for the semifinal and the final after the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) got relief from the high court and was allowed to open three stands.
The stands were off-limits for the fans during the league stage of the tournament as the TNCA had failed to get approval from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), which had maintained that the three stands had been constructed without authorisation.
Chepauk has been a stronghold for Super Kings and this year too they lost just three matches in nine games.