Cricket made its comeback at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, kicking off the IPL season with a highly anticipated clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Months of uncertainty and careful deliberation culminated to a more disciplined entry to the stadium, and the evening had a rather uneventful beginning.
The venue’s comeback comes after the tragic June 4, 2025, stampede, which claimed 11 lives during RCB’s victory celebrations. The tragic accident had cast serious doubts over whether the Chinnaswamy Stadium would ever host matches again. Enhanced safety protocols and meticulous planning have now paved the way for cricket to return to one of India’s iconic venue.
An enclosure with 11 seats reserved in tribute to victims of the 2025 stampede during celebration after Royal Challengers Bengaluru's maiden title, is seen before an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Image by PTI)
There were two mock drills on March 23 to prepare all concerned for the IPL match, but even then there would have been some trepidation because dealing with a real-match situation is a different beast altogether.
However, the whole process of managing the crowd movement at the adjacent Cubbon Road and Queens Road was rather smooth.
“We have deployed adequate force to manage the crowd outside the stadium to stop people from gathering near the gates. The stadium gates opening four hours before the match too has made our job a bit more easy,” a top police official informed.
True to his words, the cops manning the roads did not allow anyone to stand on the road for more than a couple of minutes, urging them to move to their respective gates.
Unlike in the past, there were more well-defined parking spaces away from the stadium, such as Garuda Mall and Freedom Park from where fans can either walk to the stadium or take the drop.
The decision by RCB to sell around 80 per cent of tickets online eased the rush near gates on the match day, a stark contrast from previous years when last-minute ticket hunters used to cram the avenues leading to the stadium.
Even the jersey-sellers and temporary tattoo makers who used to roam around freely were very limited in numbers and were restricted to specific areas of the roads.
The Royal Challengers management had opened the ticket sales on March 24, 4 pm, and all of them were sold out in about five minutes.
Around 29000 tickets were sold to the public as against the total capacity of 35000.
In fact, there were more turnstiles and gates for fans to enter the stadium than in previous years, and the width of the existing gates were too increased to 9 meter to make the entry an easier process.
But a rather unfamiliar order was seen and felt everywhere near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, a sharp deviation from the past.
However, the unbridled excitement, electrifying on-field action and the unstinted support for the RCB players didn’t change.
The fan's deafening cheer for Virat Kohli was unmatched. The RCB players wore No. 11 jersey during the warm-up drills, commemorating the 11 departed souls during the tragic stampede.
The teams, officials and players observed a minute of silence in memory of them and the scroll bands around the stadium flashed -- 'Forever in our hearts' and the gesture gave a solemn touch to the evening.
But cricket is certainly back in Chinnaswamy and the magic has not eroded one bit.
