Knight attack: KKR ride on Gauti magic

Gambhir heroics guide Kolkata to second spot as Gayle's waiting game leaves RCB with too much to do at the death. Nilankur Das reports. Scorecard | Cracking shots | Main men

The cops in Block B were having a tough time trying to stop the kids, and there were a whole lot of them, from running around in the isle. Finally one of the policemen picked a little boy up, climbed up the flight of stairs and handed him to his parents, who were having a gala time, and even had something to say to them. As he climbed down to take his position, three more had run down from the other side and were playing catch up.

The Indian Premier League is yet to penetrate the psyche of people. The league is yet to see fans break down in tears following a loss. Or even, hitting the streets in their cars and waving flags in the dead of the night to celebrate a victory.

Fun evening
Actually, the IPL matches are very good places to hang out and spend an evening. "The good thing is there is no tension. It's not like East Bengal playing Mohun Bagan," said Paresh Roy, an IT executive here with his family at the Club House.

"If KKR win it is great. I won't be heartbroken if they had lost. We still got to see so many shots and a competitive game of cricket. Shah Rukh Khan is here, there is music and once the match ends we will hit the disc, have a few drinks and go home for a lazy Sunday."

Is this the reason why despite a sharp dip in television ratings and subsequently the ad volume, 58,201 was the official turnout at the Eden on Saturday? And next Sunday's tickets were all sold out within two days after bookings opened online. KKR had a resounding 47-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. That wasn't important. People thoroughly enjoyed the Knights' batting --- 190 runs in 20 overs --- especially with skipper Gautam Gambhir scoring his highest for KKR. His 93 off 51 balls had nine fours and five sixes. They gasped and cheered during Zaheer Khan's tussle with Brendon McCullum. They danced when Jacques Kallis hit those mammoth sixes.

Early setbacks
Tillakaratne Dilshan's wicket going down early was a slight dampener and as RCB lost both AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in quick succession, the chance of a close finish was pretty much over. That was not full value for money.

But as Chris Gayle hit his way to get close to another century against KKR, the voices returned. In the end, he had to be satisfied with the orange cap after becoming the leading scorer.

Scorecard