All eyes on SRK

                                                                        



BEAT DECCAN CHARGER

Kolkata Knight Riders won their first home match — against the Deccan Chargers — on April 11 but why wasn’t Shah Rukh excited? Was it the lack of local support as the half-empty stadium seemed to scream out? SRK did talk about controversies (read: Sourav) getting to him, but a win was a win. Having lost to Chennai in the opening away game, this was the first victory for Gautam Gambhir’s freshly-baked team. With co-owner (the ever-smiling) Juhi Chawla by his side, SRK quietly walked out into the presentation area and waved to the sprinkling of supporters who had stayed back in the stands. “We owe it to Calcutta, the team is their team,” he said, urging Calcutta to come and support KKR on home turf.



BEAT RAJASTHAN ROYALS

The night the floodgates opened. After a thumping win against the Rajasthan Royals in Rajasthan, Shah Rukh was already on a high and when Gambhir and Co. made mincemeat of Shane Warne’s men at the Eden that Sunday, King Khan switched to party mode. Having prayed right through the match, he ran on to the ground and did a victory parade around the stadium on his own. A hurrah of team hugs later, he played the now-famous SRK-Sunny match that saw Gavaskar making his Eden comeback after decades. Shane Warne joined in and Shah Rukh smashed the legendary leggie to all corners of the park, er, the 30-yard circle. With SRK on a roll, the real action often begins after it’s all over.



LOST TO KOCHI TUSKERS Kerala

Looking straight out of the poster of Swades here, Shah Rukh was in a contemplative mood after KKR lost to Kochi Tuskers Kerala last Wednesday. When Kochi scored just 132, KKR was the favourite to cross the line but as the wickets tumbled, SRK and the rest of the Eden crowd went silent. Despite the kid gang — children Aryan and Suhana and their friends — milling around him, Shah Rukh didn’t hang around after the presentation, leaving the stadium in a sombre mood. He spent the next day at ITC Sonar Calcutta chilling with friends and family, and briefly stepping out for a friendly brand visit.





LOST TO ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

With 171 on the board, Shah Rukh really fancied a KKR win against Team Mallya’s RCB. He went down to the dugout during the break, called Yusuf Pathan (who had scored a 24-ball 46 with an injury) from the middle of the greens and gave him a long, tight hug. He chatted with Wasim Akram and the rest of the support staff and stayed back in the dugout for the start of the Bangalore innings. Then the Gayle hit home. The sixes started raining like missiles and Shah Rukh took cover in the comfort of his cool box. His team was outplayed by an ex-Knight and he was elbowed out of the spotlight by his former co-star. Deepika Padukone’s PDA with Sid Mallya was the talking point even as SRK played out a round of catch-catch with the young ones