IPL fever grips city as Delhi Capitals has the last laugh

Spectators trying to catch a sixer during the IPL cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants at Dr. YSR ACA VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on March 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

A huge crowd of cricket lovers from across Andhra Pradesh thronged the Dr YSR ACA VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam, which hosted the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday (March 24, 2025). This is the first encounter for both the teams this IPL season.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electrifying. People began pouring into the stadium three hours before the game, hoping for exciting cricket and a thrilling clash. The spectators were welcomed with an enthralling performance by noted singers Neeti Mohan and Siddharth Mahadevan. The newly renovated stadium was painted ‘blue’ and adorned with large posters of the players from the DC.

The city streets leading to the stadium were abuzz with heavy traffic and excitement as vendors sold T-shirts featuring the team logos and the popular players’ names.

Not just the jerseys of DC or LSG, but those of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Superkings (CSK) were sold for somewhere between ₹100 and ₹200 each. Caps, boundary-boards were also in good demand.

Cricket frenzy gripped the stadium as the crowd welcomed DC team which has made Visakhapatnam their second home ground. Cricket fans were excited to see their favourites such as Mitchell Starc, Faf du Plessis and others in action. The spectators flooded the social media with selfies, short videos and reels shot during the match.

Singer Neeti Mohan performing before the IPL match featuring Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, at Dr. YSR ACA VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on March 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. Deepak

“It was a bliss to watch LSG’s Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran pummelling the DC bowlers as balls flew into the stands in every other delivery. Pooran was a beauty each time he hit DC’s Tristan Stubbs. But, Ashutosh Sharma’s knock sealed the victory for the DC. Sharma gave goosebumps to the entire stadium,“ said M Karthik, a student from Dr. L. Bullayya College, who watched the match along with his friends.

Finally, Ashutosh Sharma’s blistering half-century pulled the Delhi Capitals from the dead and helped them defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 1 wicket in the thrilling encounter. Vipraj Nigam’s 39 off 15 balls and Tristan Stubbs’ 34 also played their part in the team’s win. Earlier, the Lucknow Super Giants posted a total of 209 for eight wickets.

Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, who witnessed the match, was received by Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) president Kesineni Sivanath and secretary Sana Satish. The ACA members felicitated the Governor. Union Minister K. Rammohan Naidu also witnessed the match.