Ranchi's JSCA stadium in Dhurwa has bagged only one IPL-8 tie, but it's a real biggie - a crucial playoff on Friday, May 22.
Barely days to go for the fast and furious Friday, the capital is buzzing with IPL fever from Dhurwa to all the tony hospitality addresses dotting the town. No matter who wins the IPL match in Ranchi, it's a sure-fire win for the hospitality industry.
An executive of Radisson Blu, which will cost the players, said teams were ready to give the celebrity players the best hospitality possible, from food to service to ambience. At Capitol Residency, all 85 rooms are sold out for IPL, as the crew - loosely, the television broadcast teams - will be put up there. Asit Kundu, executive chef of the hotel, said their focus was to ensure that "the crew returns happy".
For fans who can't go all the way to the Dhurwa stadium, BNR Chanakya is gearing up to set up giant screens to give its guests a live cricket watching experience. F&B manager Dharamveer Kumar said that though their restaurants had wall LCDs, they planned to put up projectors for the "big feel". "One projector has definitely been decided but we are exploring if one more can be put up in the open arena." What about food? "The menu is under wraps. We are waiting for the announcement of which teams finally play in Ranchi to design a theme around them," Kumar smiled.
Some notches down the pecking order, it's good business for budget hotels too. Nirmal Hotel near Station Road, a modest destination, is offering complimentary bottles of chilled water and cold drinks to people booking rooms from Thursday.
"Last IPL matches, all rooms were full. This year, too, we expect all our 20 rooms to get sold out," said proprietor Nirmal.
Likewise, JSCA is also elated with bumper ticket sales. JSCA spokesperson Manoj Kumar said around 34,000 tickets were on sale at 40,000-capacity stadium. "You can expect a housefull Friday," he grinned.
This time, the match will also have a "donate blood, save life" message. Currently, JSCA along with Life Savers, an organisation working on blood donation awareness, is holding a donation camp at the stadium.
"It's a good platform. On Monday, about 20 persons donated blood. We are planning a donation drive for players, team and officials on May 21 or 22. All collections will go to RIMS, Ranchi. This apart, we are also exploring options where commentators would announce blood donation messages. Cricket is a gentleman's game and gentlemen back noble causes," an official said.
