Rush for tickets as KKR pads up for Eden action after 4 years

KOLKATA: KKR may have not got the kind of start they had hoped for in this edition of IPL but the fact that the home team will be in action at the Eden Gardens after four long years was enough for fans to grab all tickets much ahead of the D-day.
IPL had returned to Eden Gardens in 2022 for the qualifier and the first eliminator but none of the matches featured KKR. The Shreyas Iyer-led team had finished seventh last year.
This year, KKR lost their first match against Punjab Kings but that had little impact on the fans who stood in long queues outside the Mohammedan club tent to collect tickets against the online bookings. KKR will take on Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell-starrer RCB in their second league match on Thursday.

“It doesn’t matter if KKR had won or lost the first match. We are excited to cheer for our team for the first time in four years. It’s a great feeling and I am certain that KKR wouldn’t disappoint us, especially with the kind of noise we are going to make from the stands on Thursday,” said Rohit Shah, who has five tickets for the evening and plans to root for his favourite team with his family members.
Belghoria resident Souvik Chowdhury plans to take the decibel level even higher as they plan to raid the stands with a team of 12 friends, all of whom would be decked up in KKR jersey on Thursday. “We have the tickets and will play our part from the stands on Thursday and I am certain, the team too would give their best,” said Chowdhury (27), who works at a private firm.
While fans queued up to collect offline tickets against online bookings, there were many who too had started crowding around the stadium looking for offline tickets — which are no more sold from the counter — and hoping for complimentary tickets from the officials.
“Rs 1,000 tickets were being sold at Rs 3,000 each and Rs 1,500 tickets were priced at Rs 5,000,” rued Raju Debnath, who had come to Eden Gardens with three friends looking for over-the-counter tickets.
As the rush increased and people started crowding around the stadium for tickets as well as glimpse of players coming in for practise, a large team of mounted police was posted to maintain law and order in the area. The cops worked on securing the entry and exit gates and ensuring extra CCTV cameras were put up to cover the entire stadium. Around 2,000 cops are expected to guard the stadium and its periphery on match days.
Kolkata: KKR may have not got the kind of start they had hoped for in this edition of IPL but the fact that the home team will be in action at the Eden Gardens after four long years was enough for fans to grab all tickets much ahead of the D-day.
IPL had returned to Eden Gardens in 2022 for the qualifier and the first eliminator but none of the matches featured KKR. The Shreyas Iyer-led team had finished seventh last year.
This year, KKR lost their first match against Punjab Kings but that had little impact on the fans who stood in long queues outside the Mohammedan club tent to collect tickets against the online bookings. KKR will take on Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell-starrer RCB in their second league match on Thursday.
“It doesn’t matter if KKR had won or lost the first match. We are excited to cheer for our team for the first time in four years. It’s a great feeling and I am certain that KKR wouldn’t disappoint us, especially with the kind of noise we are going to make from the stands on Thursday,” said Rohit Shah, who has five tickets for the evening and plans to root for his favourite team with his family members.
Belghoria resident Souvik Chowdhury plans to take the decibel level even higher as they plan to raid the stands with a team of 12 friends, all of whom would be decked up in KKR jersey on Thursday. “We have the tickets and will play our part from the stands on Thursday and I am certain, the team too would give their best,” said Chowdhury (27), who works at a private firm.
While fans queued up to collect offline tickets against online bookings, there were many who too had started crowding around the stadium looking for offline tickets — which are no more sold from the counter — and hoping for complimentary tickets from the officials.
“Rs 1,000 tickets were being sold at Rs 3,000 each and Rs 1,500 tickets were priced at Rs 5,000,” rued Raju Debnath, who had come to Eden Gardens with three friends looking for over-the-counter tickets.
As the rush increased and people started crowding around the stadium for tickets as well as glimpse of players coming in for practise, a large team of mounted police was posted to maintain law and order in the area. The cops worked on securing the entry and exit gates and ensuring extra CCTV cameras were put up to cover the entire stadium. Around 2,000 cops are expected to guard the stadium and its periphery on match days.