Thaindian News

Kolkata, April 11 (IANS) The crowd lustily cheered the Kolkata Knight Riders at the half-filled Eden Gardens as the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) returned to the eastern metropolis, though Saourav Ganguly’s absence seemed somewhat of a dampner.

The historic ground drew around 30,000 spectators as the Knights took on Deccan Chargers in a high-voltage match. Eden Gardens missed out on the big-ticket matches during the World Cup, with the India-England outing shifted to Bangalore as the International Cricket Council felt the ground was not ready.

“It is a consolation prize for us as we could not see the India-England match. So I came to see this match,” said Ankita Gaguly, who wore a KKR jersey and waved a KKR flag.

Crowds waved and cheered as KKR opener Jacques Kallis hit a mind blowing half century off 43 balls which was decorated with seven fours and one six. Girls and kids waved KKR flags as KKR batsmen went on a rampage.

The skimpily dressed cheerleaders added to the carnival ambience as they danced and waved to the crowd with every boundary hit by the KKR batsmen.

As Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary went all guns blazing in the slog overs, the lively crowd virtually went berserk as they danced and enjoyed every moment of the game.

The sound of vuvuzelas, whistles and popular numbers from KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan’s movie ‘Om Shanti Om’ mesmerised the crowd.

Most of the upper stands were full up to the brim. But the lower stands failed to draw the crowds, with most of them vacant.

“This time the crowd is less than in the last two seasons as this is due to Dada’s (Sourav Ganguly) absence. Less crowd means less business,” said Raju, a local vendor near Eden Gardens.