Diwali arrived in Kolkata a week before schedule as India trounced South Africa by 243 runs at the Eden Gardens on Sunday evening.
The celebrations had started a few overs into the chase, as the Indian bowlers made early inroads into the Proteas batting. But the fireworks began after the match ended. It was not only Eden that was glowing.
From Tollygunge to Tallah, the sky lit up almost everywhere.
“I spent close to Rs 30,000 on airfare just to watch this match. But after today’s match, I was vindicated. It is not every day that you get to witness a piece of history,” said a 40-year-old man who travelled from Kochi to Kolkata. He requested not to be named.
He bought the tickets for the round trip on Saturday, at the behest of his friends. On Sunday, he went to a watering hole on Park Street with his friends for a brief preloading session before heading to the stadium.
A restaurateur said it was the trend.
“There was a surge in footfall between noon and 2pm. A bulk of the people who walked in wore blue jerseys. Most of them ordered beer,” said Pratap Daryanani, the owner of Oasis, a bar-cum-restaurant on Park Street.
The footfall picked up again in the evening, he said.
By then, the match had become one-sided. Many India fans who went to the stadium ended the day with a celebratory dinner.
Srimanto Banerjee, who lives in New Alipore, went to Eden with a group of seven friends. They went to Amber on Waterloo Street after the match.
“Such an emphatic win calls for a celebration,” said Banerjee, a lawyer.
The roads around Eden Gardens were very busy. But otherwise, the roads were sleepier than they are on Sundays. Around 3pm, the intersection of Sarat Bose Road and Rashbehari Avenue at Deshapriya Park was deserted.
Screenings were organised across the city, from gated communities to para clubs.
By 6pm, the lawn inside South City Residency was buzzing with scores of people watching the match on a giant screen.
“The atmosphere is electric. We have a thriving sports community and there was great interest in today’s match,” said Sanjay Murarka, a resident.
At South City Mall next door, the Sunday buzz was absent. Most of the visitors had their eyes fixed on the giant screen that showed the match. As an imperious drive from Virat Kohli off Kagiso Rabada raced to the ropes, a collective cheer rang out.
The stores were largely empty. Even the employees watched the match on their phones.
At a bylane off College Square, a group of men watched the match on a small TV nested inside a box. A man wearing the T-shirt of an online food aggregator who was riding past the lane stopped by and started watching the match.
At Kalighat Natun Sangha Club on Sadananda Road, the members were watching the match inside. Every now and then, a pedestrian stopped to watch the game.
At least two sawars (horse riders of Calcutta Mounted Police) and two common persons were injured after a few mounted police horses apparently got scared after fireworks were lit outside Eden Gardens on Kingsway and started running in a rampant way hitting vehicles and people who came in their away after India’s victory over South Africa on Sunday evening.
The two were taken to SSKM Hospital, while two sawars were taken to a private hospital in Alipore with head injuries.