RCA’s gateway to trouble

Members of the Rajasthan Sports Council, whose offices are also housed in the same premises, were in a meeting when one of the members’ vehicles was towed away by the security personnel — multiplied twice over since the first game Rajasthan Royals played here at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. The council officials then huddled into a meeting with RCA, while the entry-points were sealed off by greater security. The matter was amicably settled at around 4pm, and the Sports Council officials came out denying that the arguments were over demands for passes.

With the gates shut, the pre-match preparations were thrown out of gear, as the gathering of mediapersons and security guards witnessed some bizarre scenes. Four hours before the game kicked off, a DLF lady official — a foreigner — stepped out of the upper-floor arched window of the stadium entrance onto a small balcony, mindful of her formal skirt and pointed heels, as a crowd of media and securitymen wondered with some apprehension about her intent.

Next, a couple of Indians emerged from the same window and started climbing down a ladder, and then back up, the ladder having appeared out of somewhere. But the doors to the entrance stayed stubbornly closed. The problems were sorted out in time for a smooth start to the game. After scenes befitting a Rajasthan palace intrigue, crowds were let in only at 6pm — two hours before the scheduled start.