The Capital’s cricket lovers have a perfect outing on Friday, as Airtel Champions League comes to the city.

By Chandraboli Mitra

As the crowd started to fill the stands at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium during the match between New South Wales and Diamond Eagles, few lucky ones, who came early, managed to find a seat right in front of the cheerleaders.

Whether it was a four or a six being hit or a wicket being taken, the spectators - uncertain of which team to support -- danced to each and every beat of the cheergirls.

Every four from New South Wales' Simon Katich or a wicket by Shandley van Schalkwyk of Diamond Eagles, were celebrated by dancing to the rhythmic music beats.

It was a showcase of real sports culture by the Delhi-ites in the first match of the day.

However, the scene drastically changed when Delhi Daredevils took the field against Victorian Bushrangers.

Stay updated with all the on-field and off-field action from the world of cricket

This time, the spectators limited their dancing to celebrate the success of their local team - the Daredevils. But the atmosphere became electrifying by the late evening, with stands beginning to fill to the core.

Electronic ticket system at work

For the first time on Friday, Ferozshah Kotla witnessed the electronic ticketing system.

Kotla, which has a capacity of 55,000, always encountered the problem of a large number of extra people sneaking inside the stadium during cricket matches.

Click here to watch the Bollywood stars at Kotla

But this time, the organisers made sure that no such nuisance took place.

Every ticket has a bar code that checks for its authenticity and hence helps the police in letting only those people in who have the valid tickets.

"Though it does not help too much as far as the security is concerned, but it obviously helps us in restricting the number of entries," said a policeman.

Have you selected your Super Selector team?

Although, the machine takes about 12 seconds to check if a ticket is genuine, it surely has enabled the organisers to check the unnecessary trouble even as thousands remained standing outside to get a glimpse of the game.

Star power

Although it is yet to match the craze of the Indian Premier League, the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 has managed to grab the attention. While the glamorous Bollywood team owners are missing, the organisers are making every possible effort to make up for the loss.

The spectators were in for a treat when the cast and crew of the upcoming new Bollywood venture - ‘All the Best' -- entered the field during the break.

The stars of the movie -- Bipasha Basu, Ajay Devgan and Mugdha Godse added to the glitter as the crowd at Kotla stood up and cheered for them. 

Click here to buy CLT20 tickets