IPL 2023: Lucknow look for ‘home’ support in Mohun Bagan colours

The last of Kolkata Knight Riders’ home matches for IPL 2023 comes off at the Eden Gardens on Saturday— with them hoping for a miracle as they take on Lucknow Super Giants.

While even a match of academic interest does not fail to ensure a near-capacity crowd at the Eden, the LSG management has pulled off a masterstroke to establish an emotional connection with Kolkata. They will be wearing colours of Mohun Bagan Super Giants, the football giants of the city, with both entities being owned by the RP Sanjeev Goenka Group now.

Unveiling the famous maroon-and-green shirt on Friday, the Goenka Group spokesperson said it’s a gesture to honour Mohun Bagan— which won the Indian Super League (ISL) for the 2022-23 season.

‘’I request all the Mohun Bagan fans to come on Saturday and support us,’’ Krunal Pandya, LSG’s stand-in skipper in place of KL Rahul, said at the jersey launch. However, it’s the weather forecast that the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is wary about with a thunderstorm forcing cancellation of nets for both teams on Thursday evening.

The Lucknow-based franchise, who is well-poised for their second straight entry into playoffs since their debut last year (they are now third with 15 points), need two points from their final game to reach their goal instead of waiting for other results. The team had maintained a degree of consistency throughout their campaign unlike the Knights, who blew hot and cold and are now likely to miss the bus.

Ramanullah Gurbaz, the feisty wicketkeeper-batter from Afghanistan and one of the few bright spots in the KKR campaign, was in no mood to give up though. ‘’Looking back, I feel that we have lost a few matches which we should have won. It’s now up to us to win the last one with a healthy run rate and then hope for the best,’’ Gurbaz told the KKR Knight Club.