A schoolgirl runs after Shah Rukh Khan’s car hoping to get an autograph of the star; (below) the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders at the inauguration of a Sarat Bose Road store. Pictures by Pabitra Das

Yuvraj Singh’s record of hitting the maximum sixes in an over was equalled on Friday, and it wasn’t even a cricketer who did it. It was Shah Rukh Khan who was wielding the bat, proving he can do much more than cheer his team.

Inaugurating “the first Reebok Knight Riders store” in the city, the Bollywood Badshah turned into big-hitting brand ambassador, smashing more than six (tennis) balls up, up and away from the black and gold stage outside the Sarat Bose Road outlet.

One of those balls was caught — though on the wrong side of the virtual boundary — by Sampa Guha, wearing whites. She wasn’t on her way to a Test match: the detective was in her Calcutta Police uniform.

“I am happy about what Shah Rukh Khan is doing for sports,” gushed the gold medallist weightlifter, who has represented India in the Asian and Commonwealth games.

Appearing for a 10-minute cameo with son Aryan in tow, Shah Rukh broke into a jig to the tune of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ theme song.

The crowd could have put an 80,000-strong Eden to shame for sheer volume. “Shah Rukh… Shah Rukh… korbo, lorbo, jeetbo re…” they chanted, perched atop every conceivable vantage point — from neighbouring terraces and balconies — and crowding the road.

“Namaskar, salaam wallequm,” he began. “The idea of buying a cricket team in Calcutta was one of the nicest decisions. Many thought that the idea of a film star doing a cricket team won’t work… but the kind of support that we have got… I don’t know how you say it in Bengali, but in Delhi and Mumbai, we say jai Calcutta,” said Shah Rukh, his dimpled smile bringing on more wild cheers.

And Sampa would be happy with his promise to “extend” his “mind and heart to other sports as well”, before he signed off, thanking “all the dadas”.

Fans had assembled, some as early as 1pm, waiting in the sun for nearly three hours for the star to arrive.

“I came running from school to meet Shah Rukh Khan. None of my friends believed me when I said I am going to meet Shah Rukh. Now, I am going to take an autograph and show it to them,” said 14-year-old Kiran Punjabi of Loreto Day School.

The girl in our picture chasing SRK’s car, crying out his name, may not have got the autograph she was seeking, but few others in the frenzied crowd were disappointed.

The buzz in the air was that it was Shah Rukh — not Sourav, Shoaib or Sharma — who would get KKR to the IPL semi-finals.