Kolkata The city of Kolkata went into celebratory mode Tuesday, felicitating the Indian Premier League (IPL) V champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with bouquets, shawls, sandesh and golden chains.
Celebrations began right from the hotel where the team was staying.
The Kolkata Knight Riders team was given a rousing reception at the Writers Building — the state government headquarters — where they handed over the trophy to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Banerjee joined the victory parade with the IPL champions as huge crowds lined up both sides of the streets.
As frenzied fans offered a grand reception to the newly-crowned IPL champions, the players celebrated their triumph atop a decorated open trailer that moved from south Kolkata's Hazra Crossing towards the Eden Gardens stadium.
More than 100,000 people lined up both sides of the road as the players, led by KKR captain Gautam Gambhir, waved to them from the vehicle as they sang a variation of the team's theme song Korechi, Lorechi, Jitechi Re (‘We have done it, we have fought it, we have won it').
Players taking photos of frenzied crowds
The players were seen clicking photographs of the frenzied scenes in front of them while security forces had a tough time controlling the crowd as people surged forward and made frantic attempts to touch the champions. A section of the crowd was disappointed as Bollywood icon and team owner Shah Rukh Khan did not join the procession.
Later, the actor, team co-owner Juhi Chawla and the players were present at a special felicitation ceremony organised by the state sports ministry at the Eden Gardens, in the presence of West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan, Chief Minister Banerjee and members of her cabinet.
Lauding the side for their maiden victory, Banerjee said: "The name of the team Kolkata Knight Riders is connected with Kolkata. We, the people of West Bengal, welcome all the winning players of KKR in the city."
Madan Mitra, the state sports and transport minister, said that the victory of KKR would boost the morale of people in the state.
