Nerul/Mumbai: The suburban township of Nerul, which is almost equidistant from the heart of Mumbai and Pune, has been catapulted to the world cricketing map as the Indian Premier League finals is going to be played here.

Nerul's DY Patil Stadium will host the final between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. Depending on the traffic, it takes one-and-a-half hours from Mumbai and Pune to reach Nerul.

According officials at Urse, where Mumbai-Pune expressway toll booth is located, the number of people travelling to Navi Mumbai from Pune and surrounding areas has considerably increased in the last couple of days. The stadium has hosted annual corporate tournaments for quite some time, but it is yet to hold a first-class match.

Situated on the highway, the stadium is in the DY Patil Vidyanagar campus in Nerul, Navi Mumbai. Designed by Hafeez Contractor, it has a capacity of 60,000 and was inaugurated in March 2008. A home ground for the IPL team, Mumbai Indians, the stadium complex has nine tennis hard courts, four indoor badminton courts and an Olympic sized swimming pool.

Built with a unique cantilever roof, it eliminates the need for any supports thus providing the spectators with an unobstructed view of cricket from anywhere in the stadium. Before the IPL final, the venue hosted some of the league matches of the IPL competition. “This place is superb. And way better than Wankhede and Brabourne,” said a fan, who came all the way from Pune to watch one of the IPL matches.

Source : IANS