THE SEA OF EDEN: At the 13.4-over mark during the Kolkata Knight Riders innings, boss Shah Rukh Khan stood up on the balcony railing of his B1 Box at Eden Gardens and started clicking pictures of the crowd with a simple point-and-shoot camera. First to his right. Focus and click. Then to his left. Focus and click. He smiled with the frames he captured. Perhaps Shah Rukh was documenting the turnaround he and his team has scripted in 41 days flat. From a half-empty Eden in the first home match on April 11 to a no-seat-in-sight Eden in the last league match, Knighthood has come a long way this IPL season. After being humbled and humiliated across the first three seasons, Shah Rukh’s all-new no-star team approach was heavily criticised. Especially because former icon-captain Sourav Ganguly was not retained and thereafter not bought in the auction by anyone. “In this process of professionalisation that we are going through, a part of us might be a little cold, but the important thing is to win the IPL tournament for Calcutta. At the end of it all, that is the goal,” SRK had made his stance very clear.

But the move was interpreted otherwise and the crowd count for the first home match at Eden seemed to suggest that KKR’s fan base in the city had been hit badly.

Then the team started winning. And Bollywood started trooping in. Suddenly, Eden Gardens was once again the place to be seen at.

SRT & SRK: It’s this “tricky game” called the IPL T20 that has made two Mumbai heroes and national icons, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan, enemies on the cricket field. One as the Mumbai Indians captain and the other as the Kolkata Knight Riders owner. But after the match got over on Sunday, it was a long, warm hug for the Bandra boys. But in the right frame, SRK seems to be telling SRT: “There’s one match to go, boss!”
TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH: Team KKR captain Gautam Gambhir put up a brave front after the shocker of a loss but the heartbreak was evident. “This is what happens in T20 cricket... it’s just one of those bad days,” GG said. Shah Rukh was seen comforting his skipper at the prize distribution ceremony after congratulating Man of the Match James Franklin who hit those four magic 4s in the last over by Lakshmipathy ‘boo hoo’ Balaji and paved the win for the Mumbai Indians.
OWNERS INC: Mr and Mrs Ambani gave the Sunday match a miss but son Akash was there to support MI and then shake SRK’s hand.	SWIRL: The way they moved and shook, the Mumbai Indian cheerleaders showed no signs of being affected by the controversy of one of them being sent back to South Africa for blogging off-the-field truths about cricketers and their naughty ways.

bolly in b1, tolly in b2, usha uthup at the club house... KKR was not short on star support in the last home match at the eden

BOLLY GUESTS: Priyanka Chopra was back at Eden in her sexy vest and super-sexy torn jeans by the side of her Don with her Don 2 producer Ritesh Sidhwani. Sanjay Kapoor was there too. Shah Rukh looked every bit the movie star on Sunday night in his shades as he tried rousing the crowds every few minutes, very much like Kabir Khan was urging on his players in Chak De! India.	SENS & SOUND: Next to the Shah Rukh box in B2, the Sen sisters and now the Noukadubi co-stars Raima and Riya made a pretty picture even as Harsh Neotia seemed tense about the match in the middle. And if you pan your eyes left, you can see the sole Mumbai Indians supporter from Bollywood — good ol’ Anu Malik (in green).
ALWAYS SRK, KABHI KABHI KKR: The four young actors of Roshan Abbas’s forthcoming film Always Kabhi Kabhi, produced by Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies, were there for the last match to cheer for KKR in purple jerseys. SRK, of course, took the four — Zoa Morani, Giselli Monteiro, Ali Fazal and Satyajeet Dubey — on a lap around his home ground.	POM POM, THANK YOU MAAM: There has been no sexier sight this season at the Eden Gardens than Piggychops punching those pom-poms in the air. The desi girl obliged on Sunday night too.
SRK'S AIM FOR V: Shah Rukh Khan shows a Victory mark to the supporters in Eden, to mark KKR's win ahead.	I WILL BE BACK: Right from Season One, there has been talk of Shah Rukh Khan selling off his ‘loser’ KKR side. Well he never wanted to and he never did. And this year, the team has made it to the next stage — the final four. Whether they go on to win the cup or not, boss SRK will be back at the Eden next year, for another shot at IPL glory.

srt fan lovey live from eden. plus, a few known faces in the stands

Neither KKR nor Mumbai Indians. Restaurateur and t2 columnist Lovey was cheering only for Sachin Tendulkar at the Eden Gardens on Monday. She shares her experience…

This was my second IPL match this season at the Eden Gardens. I had gone for the first match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. I was keen to go for this match against Mumbai Indians because this was going to be the last one and because of Sachin Tendulkar. I am a BIG fan. I also like the fact that he is not arrogant. So, I just wanted to be there.

In fact, 104 staff members of Kookie Jar were also there with us yesterday because they were so excited about this match. I was cheering for Sachin Tendulkar.

I have to admit that I was having sort of mixed feelings. But because it was Sachin, I was a little bit more inclined towards Mumbai Indians.

I reached two overs into the match fearing that what if Mumbai Indians was batting and if Sachin was already out! What would I do? That was the biggest question on my mind.

The newly-crowned sports minister Madan Mitra walked in quietly during the second half and stood around for almost 30 minutes, waving at the crowd and even signing autographs! His Eden companion, mayor Sovan Chatterjee (not in picture), remained seated behind glass doors.

I was happy that Kolkata Knight Riders was batting first. There was a lot of excitement in the stadium. Everyone was cheering for KKR. I was the odd one out! I was wearing blue too! In the section where I was sitting, only six people were in blue!

Every time Sachin comes out to bat we see some excellent shots. And I am always waiting for that century of his. Every shot of his is wonderful. Yesterday when he was fielding and came close by, everyone was clicking pictures, not just me. And there was this roar of, “Sachin, Sachin!” Too much excitement!

When the match ended and everyone was walking back, people were going mad to catch a glimpse of Sachin. It is amazing! I wish he had scored more, but even 38 wasn’t bad. He held the team together. It is always upsetting to watch Sachin get out. It is never enough! I was one of the few people smiling at the end of the match and thanking (Lakshmipathy) Balaji!

Whoever won, it was enough for me that I got to see Sachin play. I want to watch Sachin play in the next World Cup too!

(As told to SAIONEE CHAKRABORTY)

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Koneenica Banerjee, a regular at the IPL matches at Eden Gardens, was there on the last night as well, cheering herself hoarse for Team KKR. “Why do they clap and shout even when KKR loses a wicket?” she wondered, peering at SRK’s box.	Cricket fanatics Mayank Jalan and Rahul Todi.
Locket Chatterjee (right) and Kanchana Moitra stayed glued to the action from start to finish. Sometimes waving a flag and at times sporting KKR caps, they had their fingers crossed till that last fateful ball. “It’s my second day at Eden for the IPL. I really hope they win,” smiled Locket early into the match. Alas!	Mumbai-based Calcutta girl Antara ‘Monalisa’ Biswas, now a rising Bhojpuri star after bit roles in Bollywood, was there to root for her home team, breaking into a jig every time a KKR batsman found the boundary!

SRK the cricketer, Hrithik the supporter, priyanka the cheerleader — This ipl season, KKR had kodak moments galore. t2 PICKS A PRECIOUS FEW

We are family: Shah Rukh Khan acted as the Bollywood magnet as he got his Mumbai friends Hrithik Roshan and Arjun Rampal to come and support his team, Kolkata Knight Riders. Hrithik, a Mumbai Indians brand ambassador in the first year, attended his first ever IPL game at the Eden Gardens for the match against Chennai Super Kings. Adding glam to the KKR box were the wives — Gauri Khan, Sussanne Roshan and Mehr Jessia (not in picture). SRK’s friend Kajal Anand (between Gauri and Hrithik) was also part of the purple gang in B1 lounge.

ALL-ROUNDER: In earlier years it was only catching practice with kids Aryan and Suhana but this season, Shah Rukh got into bat-bowl mode, rolling his arm over with seam and spin and swinging the blade for cut and pull. The magic moment came after the match against Rajasthan Royals when SRK bowled to Sunil Gavaskar and batted against Shane Warne on one of the adjoining pitches. It was a comeback of sorts for Sunny who hadn’t played at the Eden since wife Marshneil was booed by the crowd.
SHE’S HOT: Priyanka Chopra was the most glamorous (read: super sexy) thing about the KKR box this season. Because unlike other guests, she didn’t stop at clapping and waving. She came prepared with her pom poms and became the unofficial cheerleader for the Kolkata Knight Riders, complete with thumka moves and Korbo lorbo jeetbo re lines. A HUGE Shah Rukh Khan fan and his Don co-star, Piggychops came for two matches this season and didn’t mind that her support for KKR was in a match against her hometown team, the Mumbai Indians.	GUEST APPEARANCE: Before making the formal announcement of joining the Pune Warriors team, former KKR captain Sourav Ganguly made a dramatic (it’s his style really) entry at the Eden Gardens. He initially was holed up in a box and then came out for a brief eye-catching appearance. Did Badshah meet Dada at Eden? No, a wave from a safe distance it was.
HERE'S WATCHING WITH YOU, KIDS: Shah Rukh always makes it clear that his sporty side is for his children, Aryan and Suhana. This season, the kids couldn’t be here for all the matches but when they did show up, they had a blast. It was a proper bachcha party as Aryan, Suhana and the other kids cheered from the B1 box and then came down after the match to play catch-catch.