May 3: The night did not belong to the Knights. Neither to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But when did the Eden Gardens ask for victory to celebrate a champion?
It was the second over of the match when Gautam Gambhir nudged a Ben Stokes delivery towards cover and dashed for a run. As is his wont, Dhoni flicked the ball onto the stumps in a flash.
The Kolkata Knight Riders did not lose a wicket, but the cheer that greeted a run-out attempt which might have gone against the home team summed up the mood of an Eden crowd that has known the legend of Dhoni from the days when he was a long-haired tyro wielding the willow like a scimitar.
The Knights, eager to regain the momentum that seems to have been temporarily stalled, had plenty of support. But just as Virat Kohli's presence a couple of weeks ago had taken the spotlight off the home team, Calcutta's son-in-law was for many the man to watch tonight.
Commentator Ravi Shastri had dubbed the match "the Bengal derby" - Shah Rukh Khan's KKR versus Sanjiv Goenka's Rising Pune Supergiants. The decibel level when Dhoni's picture and name flashed on the giant screen during the team introductions proved that there was more to this "derby" than two teams with a Bengal connection.
Ehsan Alam, dressed in the Chennai Super Kings jersey that was last seen on the IPL stage in 2015, stood in the Club House upper tier cheering for Pune throughout. He had only one reason to do so: Dhoni.
"I started watching cricket because of Dhoni after the 2007 T20 World Cup. I am a wicketkeeper and I try and copy him," said the young man from New Alipore.
Ditto Priyanka Sadhukhan, who was at Eden with husband Suvankar. "Dhoni used to be my dream boy. As a college girl, I had posters of him in my room and as my screensaver," she smiled.
Ram Narayan Kothari and four sevayats from the Puri Jagannath temple had come to Calcutta just to catch a glimpse of their hero. "We brought flowers from the temple but the guards took away the packet when we were frisked at the entrance," rued Ram Narayan.
If there was a lull, it was when four KKR wickets fell in quick succession. "If they do not score enough runs, how will Dhoni get a chance to bat?" Rupsa Chowdhury, 16, asked her father.
The Knights did set a competitive target of 156 and the buzz at Eden was that Dhoni would get the "chance" to bat. When Manoj Tiwary fell, the stadium waited in anticipation. A collective sigh of disappointment descended on the ground as Stokes strode out.
Utkarsh Agarwal, Yash Mittal, Anuj Chitlangia, Rupen Kejriwal and Adil Fayaz were among those who felt that Dhoni should have come ahead of Stokes. Yash described himself as "a Dhoni fanatic". "He is the best Indian captain ever and the best finisher in the world. What's not to like about him?" Yash said.
As Tripathi hit Kuldip Yadav for three sixes in the 13th over, Eden's hopes of seeing Dhoni bat faded. Stokes top-edged a Sunil Narine delivery and the bowler took a running catch. Hundreds of fans, on their way out, turned back.
As the familiar stout frame strode in, commentator Shastri said: "Just hear the sound. What respect!"
"I hope a helicopter shot lands in my hands," screamed Masood Alam, 26, from Asansol.
Dhoni scored 5 off 9 balls. KKR losing would not have hurt as much had Dhoni hit the winning six rather than Daniel Christian.
