The mood of Kolkata swung from hope to heartbreak on Sunday as the cricket World Cup final progressed through the evening.
For many Kolkatans, elaborate party plans and joyrides with the Tricolour were dumped as Australia won by six wickets and still had 42 balls remaining after Travis Head led the charge with 137 run off 120 balls, aided by Marnus Labuschagne, who posted 58 on the scoreboard.
Sunita Kapoor, who was at Dalhousie Insitute with her two sons and husband, cancelled their plan to have dinner at a friend's place and later head out for a drive as the Australians put up a stunning fight and chased down India's score of 240 with relative ease.
"We watched the first innings at home. We came to the club to watch the second innings. We were hopeful of a win as India had scored 240 and managed to get three wickets during the initial overs of the second innings. I was still hoping for a comeback till the scoreboard read 170, but we soon realised the match was out of our hands. The feeling of elation changed to that of dejection and we decided to scrap our plans and head home," Kapoor said.
In the initial overs of the second innings, cheers rang out inside malls, clubs, housing complexes as well as living rooms across the city as the Australians lost three wickets in quick succession, starting with that of David Warner.
In several localities, giant screens had been set up to live-stream the final. However, as the evening progressed and the Aussies made a strong comeback despite losing three wickets early, many started to leave those places.
Advertising professional and musician Rahul Mehra was watching the match at Dalhousie Institute with his batchmates from South Point High School. As Australia was approaching 200, some of them spoke about leaving the club and going to someone's home.
"Let us go home and have dinner. This match is over," one in the group was heard saying.
"One of our friends turned 40 today. Initially, the plan was to celebrate India's victory and his birthday together, but as India lost, we are fortunate that at least we have something left to celebrate," Mehra said, before leaving with his friends for dinner at a Park Street restaurant.
Similar scenes played out on New Town Walking Street, near Central Mall, where more than 500 residents and commuters had gathered to watch the match on a giant screen.
Samaresh Das, one of the organisers of the screening and a member of the New Town Amateur Sports Club, said they had planned a DJ night and a fireworks show to celebrate India's victory.
"Nearly everyone here was sporting an Indian jersey. The mood was upbeat before turning sombre as the Australians kept piling on runs. By the time the match ended, very few of us were still there," Das said.
Around 400 residents of South City attended a screening organised by the South City Apartment Owners' Association.
