Prayers, cracked coconuts, Cricket Ganesha fail to help CSK win IPL

The sharp crack of a coconut in front of the Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple in Kotturpuram caused passersby to stop in their tracks for a second. What they found even more intriguing was why the youngster who broke it was clad in a yellow Chennai Super Kings jersey. “To pray for CSK’s victory in the IPL final,” was his reply when an onlooker asked him.

This was a common sight on Sunday across many temples in the city, where fans of the team were offering prayers for the team to win. The team, however, lost the final match against the Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad.

But for fans in Chennai, no preparation is too outrageous when their favourite team is lined up for a big game. From following crazy superstitions like sitting on the right side of the couch during the match to painting their body with the team’s logo, it has all been done. “This year, however, I wanted to go a step further and do an archanai to Ganesha so that we would win,” said Avinash R, a 29-year-old IT employee, who has been a CSK fan since the first season.

Apparently, a group of his friends went to the Varasiddhi Vallabha Mahaganapathi Temple in Besant Nagar to do the same. “We told the priest that we were praying for CSK’s victory and they couldn’t believe what they were hearing,” he said. His offerings included a coconut and some flowers for the deity.

During the 2015 World Cup, a similar scene unraveled at a place of worship in Anna Nagar East. Ramakrishnan, an ardent fan of the game, instituted the Palayathamman Temple in which the main deity is known as ‘Cricket Ganesha.’

Worshippers of the god and the game came from across the city to seek blessings of the star attraction —an eleven-headed idol of the elephant god. It is flanked by 11 other Vinayaka idols, thus creating a team of their own. “Each statue is carved to represent a cricket-related action such as bowling, fielding and batting. This year, I prayed for MS Dhoni to lead his team to victory,” said Niveditha S, a devotee.