Kolkata, the city of joy, has turned into a city of sorrow for the Tigers fanbase after their two heavy losses against the Netherlands and Pakistan at the iconic Eden Gardens this week.
When the fixture of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was revealed, two games in Kolkata in late October caught the attention of the fans in Bangladesh.
Those Bangladesh supporters targeted these two matches to watch live where they would support their beloved Tigers by screaming and cheering and waving the national flag at the famous Eden Gardens.
The spectators expected that Bangladesh would win at least one encounter, most expectedly against the Dutch at least.
But they returned empty-handed and heartbroken as their team did not put up any fight in either of the two clashes and got outplayed by both the opponents.
Just before the Netherlands tie, Kolkata New Market’s adjacent roads and areas were flooded with Bangladesh fans.
At times, I was wondering whether I am in Kolkata or in a busy place in Dhaka, like Farmgate or Gulistan.
Before the night of the Dutch game, wherever one looked or went for dinner, the places were inundated with fans in Bangladesh jerseys talking about cricket.
They were delighted to be there to support their team having traveled a long way across the border to enjoy the match.
But their excitement turned into a nightmare last Saturday as Bangladesh shockingly lost to the Netherlands.
It was a completely different scenario at Marquis Street, one of the most popular streets in New Market area for Bangladeshi tourists, after the night of the Dutch disaster as fans were in utter disbelief to see their team lose by such a big margin.
Bangladesh fans were literally stunned seeing their star-studded batting line-up fold for just 142 runs against a decent Netherlands bowling attack.
For the next game against Pakistan, expectations were low but still fans went in large numbers at Eden Gardens hoping for something special from the Tigers.
But Bangladesh lost heavily, again.
When Bangladesh were all out for only 204 on a good batting wicket after electing to bat first, most of the traveling fans knew what was coming and their expectation and hope of a joyous celebration in Kolkata faded away eventually.
Many fans gave their angry reaction outside the Eden Gardens after both the matches and vented their frustration to the media.
Kolkata was bright and colorful in the last few days as the city of joy just celebrated Durga Puja.
But for the people and fans who traveled all the way from different parts of Bangladesh and even from across the world, the city of joy and its brilliant ambience could not touch their hearts.
After all, they had to swallow the hard pill of twin defeats and watch their beloved Bangladesh cricket team get pummeled by the opponents in both the games at Eden Gardens.