Gautam Gambhir on arrival at the city airport, on Monday. A Telegraph picture

Chennai: Fortunately, nobody broke a bone or cracked a rib, at the Taj Coromandel between 1.45 am and 2.30 am on Monday, for there were two near-stampedes during that period.

Indeed, with the hotel being liberal in allowing the Kolkata Knight Riders fans to throng its lobby, somebody could have been hospitalised. So crazy were the scenes on a night the Knights made IPL history.

Hundreds wanted a piece of the Gautam Gambhirs when the Knights returned to the hotel, at 1.45 am, and it was a struggle for co-owner Jay Mehta to uncork the first bottle of champagne.

In the pandemonium, marked by cries of “KKR, KKR, KKR,” the chocolate cake thoughtfully prepared by the hotel almost got trampled upon.

More bubbly was uncorked, but Gambhir’s priority was to ensure his mother Seema’s safety. It was a challenge getting to the elevator, as the security personnel were not only outnumbered, but left bewildered by the clamour for the Knights.

All this, mind you, in Chennai and not in the Knights’ home city.

Predictably, mobbed was MoM Manvinder Singh Bisla, who played a stunning innings under pressure and should come into the reckoning for the World T20 later this year.

Asked by The Telegraph if the enormity of his achievement had sunk in, Bisla smiled and replied: “Dheere dheere ho raha hai... It’s sinking in, thank you.”

On Saturday, the Chennai Super Kings (and India) captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, had spoken about the final being an opportunity for “somebody” to be a hero.

Bisla, obviously, made a note of that.

Winner of the Player of the Season award, Sunil Narine, who scripted the biggest hand for the Knights, managed to slip away rather unnoticed. He went wicketless in the final, but Bisla made sure nobody would talk of that for long.

Years down the line, the fraternity will still applaud the Knights for bagging Narine at the auction this February.

Those who didn’t show interest must be kicking themselves now.

Manoj Tiwary, who fired the winning boundary, was calm.

Speaking exclusively, Tiwary said: “Of course, jyada pressure tha, but I backed myself after studying the field set for (Dwayne) Bravo. I was confident of getting a second boundary in the over.”

Tiwary had been pushed down the order, but brought his experience to such good use. No wonder principal owner Shah Rukh Khan wanted to lift him in the moments immediately after the Kings were dethroned.

At the hotel, more chaos was in store, some 45 minutes later, when Shah Rukh and his best buddy, the silver-haired Vivek Khushlani, arrived.

Television cameramen, print media photographers and the aam fans waylaid Shah Rukh and, for five minutes or so, he couldn’t take a step towards the elevator ‘reserved’ for him.

Eventually, Shah Rukh had to be pushed into it by the hotel staff. Not that the frenzied shouts of “Shah Rukh, Shah Rukh” ended with his escaping to his suite.

Gambhir led the franchise to victory, but for many, the Knights’ success is being seen as a huge win for Shah Rukh and Shah Rukh alone.

The guy truly is larger than life.

Shah Rukh has, over the years, become calmer in handling his franchise and that calmness has rubbed off on the others as well.

From getting a CEO (Venky Mysore) in late 2010, to not retaining any player in the lead-up to the January 2011 auction, to having a smaller group, everything has worked for Shah Rukh. He’s had to wait for five seasons, but he’d be the first to admit it has been worth it.

Incidentally, till 11 am on Monday, only some members of the support staff, including team director Joy Bhattacharjya, and a lone player in the form of Iqbal Abdulla were seen at the Anise, the hotel’s coffee shop, where breakfast is served.

The rest, clearly, had a long night.

Footnote: Eden Gardens may host both the opening ceremony and the final of IPL-VI.