Purple dreams shattered: KKR fans watch hope fade away

Kolkata: It was a night of heartbreak for KKR fans who thronged the Eden Gardens stands on Sunday evening, cheering for their team despite being dashed out of the IPL even before their last home match against Delhi Capitals started. With Rajasthan Royals defeating Mumbai Indians to qualify for the play-offs in the day's first encounter, KKR's hopes of making it were shattered, plunging Eden into gloom.Fans buried their faces in their hands and their shoulders dropped even before the first ball was bowled. "I can't believe we are out. How could Mumbai lose to Rajasthan so easily? Had they won, KKR could have made a frantic effort to beat Delhi by a huge margin and qualify," said techie Sujoy De. Crestfallen fans still cheered for the Men in Purple, albeit the passion was obviously missing. A victory over Delhi Capitals by 77 runs or chasing down the target in 12.1 overs or less would have taken KKR to the play-offs, had MI won. It was a sudden and anti-climactic finish for Ajinkya Rahane's purple brigade, who staged a dramatic turnaround in the IPL, winning six out of their last seven games to keep their chances alive. Fans started streaming into Eden from early Sunday evening, their eyes fixed on mobile screens. As MI struggled against the RR bowling, fans pinned hopes on SuryaKumar Yadav to come to their rescue and keep KKR in contention. But their hopes were dashed even before most had started streaming into the ground. To rub salt into their injury, DC got off to a flyer with KL Rahul and Sahil belting KKR bowlers to reach 86 in nine overs. As Narine got Sahil, Eden broke into a brief cheer. Fans were soon silenced, though, as Rahul raced past 50 with some lusty blows. Kartik Tyagi's thunderbolts generated some excitement. The youngster, however, was treated with disdain by Rahul, who hit him for a four and a huge six in the 11th over.