Dressed in purple jerseys and white caps, nearly 600 children made their Eden debut on Sunday as they cheered for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Bijoy Das, a Class V student of Haltu High School, has watched every IPL match this season on TV with his father but had only dreamt of seeing the action live. His dream was fulfilled by the Round Table of India Club, Calcutta.

“I never realised that the stadium would be so big,” said the Russell fan.

The children from the less-privileged sections of society came from schools in Haltu, Rishra, Bally and Howrah supported by the Round Table of India Club.

The kids were picked up from their schools in buses and dropped off in front of the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

“They were given juice packets and snacks during the journey,” an organiser said.

Manish Lakhotia of the Round Table of India said the children came to know a week ago that they would get to watch the match at Eden.

Sisters Tanuja and Ankita Ojha, who study in classes V and VII respectively, were upbeat despite the hot and humid weather. Carrying placards that said “We support Kolkata Knight Riders”, the girls said they would wave them every time a KKR batsman hit a four or a six.

Khusboo Gupta had another agenda — to catch a glimpse of Shah Rukh Khan. “I hope to get a glimpse of Shah Rukh Khan from the stands. I am here only for him,” she gushed.

Among the KKR fans was a Dhoni follower. Sujit Mridha, a Class V student of Haltu High School, said he would be rooting only for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the CSK captain.

Rajeev Goenka, the chairman of Round Table 4, and one of the organisers said they wanted to give the children a taste of what it feels like to be in a cricket stadium.