Chaos reigned supreme as about one lakh fans turned up at the Eden Gardens to celebrate Kolkata Knight Riderss title triumph in IPL 7 even as Bollywood actor and franchise owner Shahrukh Khan failed to reach the venue on time because of a technical snag in flight.Khan was delayed by two hours but that did not take any sheen off the felicitation of Kolkata Knight Ridersin the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.Overwhelmed by the support his team received from the fans, Khan said he has never seen such enormous backing for a team.I dont think any other state or country in the world has this kind of support for their sporting heroes. Many many thanks to all of you. Thank you Kolkata for supporting us for our second win, he said at the teams felicitation at the Eden Gardens, organised by the state government and CAB.Our success for KKR which is run by Venky Mysore and captained by Gautam Gambhir is just because of you. I thank all of you bowing my head on behalf of my team, he said.Humko aapki taaliyan bhi Padang hai aur gaaliyan bhi (we appreciate both your love and flaks)... We will keep working hard and keep entertaining you sharing our happiness.KKR supporters are spread everywhere not just in Kolkata, he said and quoted a popular dialogue from his movieDon: Don ko agar koi pakad sakta hai woh KKR ke supporters hain.Taking bows repeatedly as a gesture ofgratitude to fans, SRK made a lap ofthe packed Eden, waving and blowing kisses with his entire squad in tow with loud cries of team slogan Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re... Ami Kolkata, werule.Holding aloft the trophy, skipper Gautam Gambhir led the victory lap along with co-owner Juhi Chawla.SRK apologised for his delay on his official Twitter handle, Sorry Kolkata technical snag on flight. Will be a bit late but will be there. Apologies.Kolkata bound. Delay in flight, but will make it...Insha Allah nothing can stop us now, SRK tweeted as the reception began at noon.Earlier, the KKR cricketers on boardeight open SUVs made a victory lap of the stadium amid confetti showers soonafter the Chief Minister arrived.While about 60,000 people managed to enter the stadium thousands jostled in the surrounding Maidan area to gain entry which was free but only with complimentary passes from police stations in the metropolis and through CAB affiliated clubs in the state.The stadium authorities opened the gates at 11:00 am to enable supporters to enter well ahead of the start of the programme scheduled at 1:00 pm, whichwas delayed.People started queueing up at Eden Gardens from as early as 9:00 am as all roads led there.Later, after SRK arrived at 4:00 pm,Banerjee, who rescheduled her visit to north Bengal to be present at the felicitation, asked policemen to let people in.With no reception in Bengal being complete without sweets, a specially made giant sandesh weighing 40kg in areplica of Eden Gardens was placed with the Trophy.The cake was cut jointly by team co-owners Shah Rukh, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta along with skipper Gambhir and the chief minister.Unlike the 2012 celebration after their maiden IPL triumph when team members were showered with gold, it was the Cricket Association of Bengal that jointly feted the IPL 7 champions.The felicitation began with CAB chief Jagmohan Dalmiya handing out gold rings weighing 10 gm each to all the members and support staff of the victorious side. Also presented were Alphonso mangoes on the states behalf.At times, police had to wield lathis to disperse the crowd with the help of the Mounted Police.The delirious scenes with people, including women and children jostling, resembled KKRs victory celebration on May 29 two years ago.Indipop singer Usha Uthup belted out popular Bollywood chartbusters to keepthe spectators engaged till the arrival of KKR.Taking a cue from PM Narendra Modis hugely successful Ab Ki Baar... campaign, she sang a new theme song -- Ab ki baar KKR, Baar baar KKR, Baar baar chhukkamaar -- to the delight of spectators.There were also a host of Bengali film and TV industry celebrities in attendance.Madan Mitra, who was present with a host of state ministers, was seen sitting on the Eden outfield giving shutterbugs a photo opportunity.Needless to say there were traffic gridlocks and people commuting by public or private transport faced a harrowing time.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 12:52:43 +0000
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