While the skipper sulked, team owner Ashok Kheni had to pick it on stage. The team has, in fact, asked for a re-match of Sunday's CCL final.
The Karnataka team thought the run out of their batsman by a Chennai bowler during his run-up when the team needed only 10 runs from six balls as highly unsporting. “Morally we won the match, so the players were reluctant to go on stage to receive the runners-up trophy. So I went to save the credibility of CCL. Heroes are supposed to be role models but they set a wrong precedent yesterday.”
“Cricket is supposed to be a gentleman’s game but this decision was made at the cost of the spirit of the game. Even in international matches, the batsman is first warned and then, if he repeats it, the bowler can run him out. Although the umpires were against it, the adamant Chennai team had their way,” said Kheni adding that the CCL’s credibility was at stake and he had thus asked for a re-match in two weeks.
“I have asked the organisers to conduct another final to give a fair chance to both the teams and also to safeguard the spirit of the game and CCL’s,” he adds. Annoyed with the loss, the Karnataka team also stayed away from the after party. “Can you chill out with someone who has raped you?” He asks harshly.
On a lighter note, it seemed that the Chennai team even had better crowd support as stars like Vishal, Arya and Jiva are popular in Andhra Pradesh and the crowds went wild when they saw them on the giant screen. Of course, glam girls Shriya Saran, Priyamani, Madhu Shalini, Sana Khan, Poonam Kaur and Sonia Agarwal tipped the scales further in Chennai’s favour.
“We can’t identify Kannada stars since Kannada films are rarely dubbed in Telugu, we know only one star, Upendra,” said a youngster in the crowd. However, one has to give credit to the Chennai Rhinos as the second-time CCL winners bounced back in the semi-final and final after losing a few matches earlier. “Our guys have played a rocking match,” said Tamil star Sarath Kumar.
Sidelights
Sporting Venky Superstar Venkatesh said he didn't regret the defeat of Telugu Warriors as it was just a game. "Whoever plays well on a particular day wins but we could have batted and bowled better in the semi-final. But I think the spirit of the game is more important than anything else."
Strong Support
Cricketer Sreesanth had come to support Chennai as he had played Under-19 cricket with Tamil actor Vikranth, superstar Vijay's cousin who scored 90 odd runs in the match. "I have come to cheer the Chennai team," he said in broken Tamil, adding, "I am happy with cricket and have no plans for acting."
Producer Vikram Krishna and his wife and actress Shreya Reddy of Pogaru fame also supported Chennai. "We are here to support my brother Vishal and they will win the cup,"
Vikram said when Karnataka had still 20 runs to make. The couple, however, stayed away from Radhika and Sarath Kumar, as Radhika has filed a case for `9 crore against Vikram with Nadigar Sangam of which Sarath is the president.
Near miss
A Telugu team member claims that Telugu Warriors could have withdrawn from the tournament before the semi-finals as owner Vishnu Babu hadn't get the money for the stakes he had handed over to CCL. After a few cheques bounced, Vishnu finally got his money and the Telugu team stayed on in the competition.
Gritty cheerleaders
Shirya Saran was jumping up and down when she thought that a Tamil star had grabbed a good catch without noticing that he had actually dropped it. She kept on celebrating till
somebody stopped her. Sonia Agarwal and Madhu Shalini, meanwhile, were seen praying often.
Jam packed
Parking for cars and bikes was 2 to 3 km away from the gate and even the vehicle of Radhika and Sarath Kumar was stopped by the police and sent back to the parking space as there was no one to identify them.
Even the VVVIP stand was jam packed as it seemed that there were double the number of people as there were seats. Apparently few policemen were sending their families to the VVIP stand without passes and it ended up being the most crowded stand. To bolster the crowds, the organisers had issued more complimentary VVIP passes, but it spoiled the mood
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