The battle lines are drawn as IPL returns to the Eden Gardens after four years: it’s going to be Virat Kohli versus Shah Rukh Khan, a tour around Eden on match eve suggested.
The online ticket redemption counters near the Mohammedan Sporting Club tent on the Maidan were busy through the day.
More than half the people The Telegraph met at the counters said they would root for Kohli on Thursday.
A group of five had come from Rourkela in Odisha to watch the match at Eden.
“I am a veteran at Eden. This is going to be my seventh IPL match at the stadium. I have seen cricket matches in Delhi and Cuttack. But Eden’s vibe is different,” said Vijay Sharma, 31, who is the manager of a multiplex in Rourkela.
He was accompanied by his wife Suvra, a dance teacher, nine-year-old son Ranveer, friend Subham Patwari and his wife Muskan.
Everyone in the group was a “die-hard” Kohli fan.
“His passion on the ground is something to behold. Win or lose, he always gives 110 per cent,” said Subham, a businessman.
The group arrived in Kolkata by train on Tuesday and would be leaving on Friday.
Anirban Biswas and Shriya Sarkar, students at a private university in Salt Lake, bought RCB jerseys after collecting their tickets.
Thursday was going to be the debut match at Eden for both of them.
“I am so lucky that I will get to see Kohli in action in my first match,” said Shriya, who is studying law.
Biswas just hopes his favourite player continues his good form.
Kohli looked in sparkling form in the first match against Mumbai Indians, scoring an unbeaten 82 of 49 balls, steering his team to victory.
As the RCB team bus arrived at Eden around 5.35pm, a deafening roar greeted the men in red and gold. A big crowd gathered instantaneously, scores of hands with cell phones raised to click their talisman.
The giant facade was glowing with KKR faces but it was difficult to tell the home team.
One man can tilt the scales in the stands on match day.
Shah Rukh Khan, principal owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, is expected to be at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, when the franchise open their home campaign.
SRK was in the stands the last time KKR played at Eden, on April 28, 2019.
The purple brigade, then fighting for a slot in the playoffs, defeated Mumbai Indians, who would go on to lift the trophy.
Shamika Samant, 19, had come to collect two tickets for Thursday. She would come with a friend. SRK is the top draw for both of them.
Farzan Ahmed, who works with an online food aggregator, said he would switch off his cell phone on Thursday evening.
“Shah Rukh and KKR make a dream combination. They are made for each other,” said Ahmed, who lives in Topsia and would come to Eden on Thursday with a “large group”.
The last time KKR played at Eden, was on April 28, 2019. What was the world like then?
- India was in the middle of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In West Bengal, the poll was conducted in six phases. The fourth phase was held on April 29, 2019.
- The Long Night, the third episode of the eighth season of the Game of Thrones, was aired on April 28, 2019. It went on to become one of the most popular episodes of GoT.
