Eden Gardens was robbed of the IPL final but Calcutta will not let anyone take away its ability to soak in the excitement, even if the real action is hundreds of miles away.

Drawing rooms, pubs, clubs and lounges were packed with cricket fans from early evening.

The final was billed as a close fight, but off the field in Calcutta, it was hardly a contest. Virat Kohli was the overwhelming crowd favourite and most rooted for red-and-gold.

Kohli had raised expectations with a solid start, but when he fell to Azmatullah Omarzai in the 15th over after a brisk start, pin-drop silence prevailed across the stadium, as it did in Calcutta.

“Virat has given so much and won so many trophies, two of them World Cups. But the IPL one is missing from his cabinet, and I hope the drought ends for him. KKR out, I will be rooting for RCB,” Vishal Sharma, an MBA student at a private university in Salt Lake, told Metro halfway through the match.

Sharma watched the match at a pub in Quest Mall with friends, all rooting for RCB. The place was packed, and two in three diners were rooting for RCB.

As Kohli played a trademark flick, dispatching Kyle Jamieson to the mid-wicket fence in the fourth over, they erupted in joy.

Sambaran Banerjee, former Bengal captain and coach, also wanted Kohli to win.

“Ninety-nine per cent of the young cricket trainees want Kohli to lift the IPL trophy,” said Banerjee, who runs a popular cricket coaching centre on Southern Avenue.

There was the other camp, too.

Bengal batter Anustup Majumdar rooted for Sreyash Iyer, the captain of Punjab Kings. “In a T20 match, anything can happen. But Punjab have a slight edge because of Iyer, both as a batsman and as the captain,” he said, as the Punjab Kings skipper fielded like a champion and rotated his bowlers with guile.

Pockets of Bhowanipore and Dunlop, known for thriving Punjabi settlements, were among the places that swam against the tide. In many homes, small and large groups shouted their hearts out for Iyer and his brand of red.

“Punjab Kings have made all of us proud. The passion the boys bring to the field is unmatched. They bear the spirit of Punjab,” said Kailash Athwani, president of the Punjab Club in Ballygunge.

A giant screen beamed the match live in the main hall of the club.

At the BC Roy Market in Esplanade, better known as Maidan Market and the hub of jerseys and sports kits, Jersey No. 18 in red-and-gold was the item that sold the most. It is Kohli’s.

But most traders were complaining. “I have sold about 15 shirts since yesterday. All of them are Virat’s. But this is nothing. Had Eden been the venue, the number would have multiplied,” said trader Mohammed Shamim.

Outside Bengaluru, Calcutta has one of the strongest support bases for RCB, thanks to Kohli. If KKR are playing RCB at Eden, a Kohli cover drive often triggers such frenzy in the stands that it is difficult to tell the home team.

But true to his nature, Kohli has his share of naysayers as well.

“He is too arrogant. I want Punjab to win and teach him some sobriety. Sreyash won the previous match almost single-handedly. But he was so calm and unfazed even after the victory. I want him to lift the trophy,” said Mridula Saha, a retired bank employee.