READY RECKONER
Kolkata Knight Riders, under their new captain Dinesh Karthik, begin their campaign in the 11th edition of the IPL against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Metro presents a guide for those planning to head to Eden for the Sunday blockbuster
When: Toss is at 7.30pm. Match starts at 8pm. The gates will open at 6pm
What you can’t carry: Bottles, lighters, tins or cans, musical instruments, flammable and toxic materials, metal containers, firecrackers, helmets and bags
Metro: Metro will run a pair of extra trains for the Eden crowd after the match. Both trains will originate from Esplanade at 12.15am. One will run till Dum Dum and the other till Kavi Subhash. Both trains will stop at all stations along the route, but only for passengers to get off
Suburban train: The Howrah-Panskura local will leave Howrah at 12.15am
Calcutta: If IPL is here, can thunderstorm be far behind?
An overcast sky since Saturday afternoon and a few spells of rain in the evening triggered fears among cricket fans that Kolkata Knight Riders' inaugural match in the 11th edition of the IPL at the Eden Gardens on Sunday night might be a washout.
The Alipore weather department has almost ruled out the possibility but predictions and trust - especially in matters meteorological - seldom go hand in hand.
"There is a possibility of a thunderstorm on Sunday but the chances are low," G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta, said on Saturday.
From KKR fans who had gathered outside Eden to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars to CAB officials huddled at various corners of the stadium, everyone was focused on weather.
"By now, I have grown used to rain-affected IPL matches at Eden. I just hope that there is no downpour tomorrow," said Lake Town resident Prashant Singh, 26.
Since the IPL started in 2008, there have been two washouts and several stop-start matches at Eden. On April 24, 2012, a squall accompanied by rain felled the "venue operation centre" and left three spectators injured. The match was abandoned a little before 10.30pm.
A match was again washed out on April 26, 2015, the day an earthquake devastated Nepal and shook many Indian cities, including Calcutta.
Eden has taken steps to improve its drainage system but is still dependant on groundsmen to get a match going after rain.
Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, in contrast, has implemented a system that can drain out 10,000 litres of rainwater every minute.
On Saturday, a combination of two weather systems - a trough of low pressure from Rajasthan to Jharkhand and a cyclonic circulation from central Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh - led to the formation of thunderclouds over Chhotanagpur Plateau.
The clouds moved towards the city over the next two hours, passing by Bankura, Burdwan and Midnapore. "A strip reached Calcutta. It skirted the city, leading to rain in some pockets, mainly in the north," meteorologist Das said.
Flights affected
Six Calcutta-bound flights were diverted because of bad weather. No flight could land or take off from 7pm to 8.30pm, airport officials said. An Air India flight from Delhi was diverted to Agartala. A flight each of Air India, Indigo and Vistara - from Guwahati, Delhi and Chennai, respectively - were diverted to Bhubaneswar. A Biman Bangladesh flight from Dhaka failed to land and flew back to the Bangladesh capital. An Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi was diverted to Dhaka.
