Small fire in eastern stand delays start of IPL match

Bangalore, April 10 (IANS) A burst of fire and smoke in front of the eastern stand in the Chinnaswamy stadium here Tuesday delayed the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

"The match has been delayed by 20 minutes from 4 p.m. due to a small fire on the right side of the pavilion but off the field in front of the eastern stand," an official of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which is hosting the tournament, told IANS at the ground.

Though the cause is yet to be ascertained, a short-circuit is suspected to be behind the sparks that burnt a box from where flames erupt when a sixer is hit or a batsmen is out.

"We are investigation the cause. There is no cause for alarm as no one is injured or any property damaged. As a pre-cautionary measure, we have delayed the start for clearing up the place," the official noted.

As a result, the host team, whose skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to field first, was asked to return to the pavilion till the ground was cleared by the security and fire brigade agencies.

The fire without much smoke forced the host team to keep the cheer girls away from the make-shift ramp in the eastern stands and near the pavilion

Meanwhile, an eerie and uneasy calm prevailed in the nearly jam-packed stadium with frenzied fans sitting on the edge with fingers crossed as the clock ticked away for the game to begin.