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It was a wet blanket on fan enthusiasm at Chinnaswamy
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Updated - October 19, 2026 02:22 am IST - Bengaluru
Groundsmen covering the pitch during the final T20I between India and the West Indies at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on October 17, 2026. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
It was after two years that an international fixture returned to Bengaluru’s iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. And the common factor between the previous international match at the venue (October 16, 2024) and Saturday’s fixture, as any cricket fan could guess, was anticipation of rain. With one crucial difference — while the 2024 match ended in a result, the 2026 one had to be abandoned midway with rain playing spoilsport. What had promised to be a high-voltage series decider between India and the West Indies had to be abandoned with rains coming thick and strong. Earlier in the day, fans had braved intermittent rains and Bengaluru’s nightmare traffic to reach the venue. By sunset on Saturday, thousands of cricket fans thronged Queens Road and M.G. Road, donning India jerseys and creating a sea of blue around the stadium. Traffic crawled along waterlogged Queens Road, but the police barricading ensured that fans did not spill over onto the road to further exacerbate it, facilitating the smooth movement of vehicles.
The stadium is a familiar setting for Virat Kohli (now retired from T20Is), who represents the home team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in the Indian Premier League (IPL). But on Saturday, it was the name of his IPL teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar that echoed through conversations among fans.
It was Kumar’s international comeback after four years, with his last international appearance dating back to 2022. Since then, Kumar, popularly known as the ‘Swing King,’ had not featured in India’s colours. Many had written him off, but his comeback became a story that resonated with Bengaluru. Social media was abuzz with the connection between Kumar and Bengaluru since Friday — how he began his IPL journey with an RCB contract, how his T20 international debut for India against Pakistan in 2012 was at the Chinnaswamy and so on.
Sadly, all that buzz and enthusiasm eventually came to naught.
Manoj Garg, a fan, said a match in Bengaluru is always at the mercy of weather gods. “It could be a rain of sixes or just rain that ends it all!”
Published - October 18, 2026 12:57 am IST
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The Hindu·5 hours ago·3 min read
Sports
Protests, match and festivals bring Bengaluru traffic to a standstill
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Updated - October 19, 2026 02:21 am IST - Bengaluru
Traffic gridlock in the Central Business District (CBD) continued even till almost midnight as the match was called off due to rain and spectators started leaving the stadium. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
A mix of protests, sporting events and festivals paralysed Bengaluru, as the city was gridlocked on Saturday. Several key stretches, including J.C. Road, M.G. Road, Hosur Road and Tumakuru Road, were choked with outstation buses trying to leave the city.
On Saturday evening, several roads in Central Bengaluru were congested. The police had made barricading arrangements around M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the India-West Indies match. This, coupled with rain, slowed traffic across the Central Bengaluru District. Parking restrictions further worsened the situation. Traffic gridlock in the Central Business District (CBD) continued even till almost midnight as the match was called off due to rain and spectators started leaving the stadium.
Around Nrupathunga Road, traffic was affected by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s visit to the Director General of Police headquarters. Further, the police had made arrangements around J.C. Road, as the All India Students Association (AISA) had called for a protest near Town Hall. The barricades and arrangements for buses added to the congestion.
Meanwhile, Tumakuru Road near Goraguntepalya was gridlocked, with inter-district buses lining up. Long queues of traffic were also reported near the exit point at Majestic.
Keerthana M., a Koramangala resident who was travelling to her hometown of Hassan, said the bus she was travelling in was stuck within the city for almost two hours, and the journey to her district took six hours. “I took the bus around 3 p.m., thinking I would get out in the evening traffic but couldn’t escape,” she said.
In the southern part of the city, commuters heading towards Chandapura were stuck in gridlock for more than three hours. Several took to social media to share their ordeal. However, many commuters claimed that travel on Friday night had been worse, with some taking over six hours to cross the city limits.
An X user wrote that it took four hours to cover the stretch from Silk Board to Attibele on Friday night. Traffic on Mysuru Road also crawled, with several car users taking to the road on Saturday.
City railway stations also witnessed an unusually large number of passengers. Manjunath, who boarded a train at SMVT station, said the entire station was a nightmare.
“The situation was really bad, with all passengers pushing each other. It was a packed situation,” he said.
Published - October 18, 2026 12:56 am IST
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The Hindu·5 hours ago·3 min read
