IPL 2023, KKR vs RCBSpecial drone show to mark return of IPL to Eden Gardens in Kolkata

By Anirban Sinha RoyThe iconic Eden Gardens will host an Indian Premier League match for the first time in over 3 years on Thursday, April 6 and to mark the special occasion, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has planned a drone show. Kolkata Knight Riders will host Royal Challengers Bangalore in what promises to be a blockbuster IPL 2023 match as the tournament returns to Kolkata for the first time since the 2019 season.

Over 500 drones will be called into action to make it a spectacular evening for fans and the two sets of players and coaching staff at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. A similar exhibition using drones was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the IPL 2023 opener ahead of Gujarat Titans’ match against Chennai Super Kings. The show was organized with tie-up with TATA, the title sponsor of the IPL.

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Avishek Dalmiya, one of the members of the IPL Governing Council and former president of CAB, was present there. On his initiative, a similar exhibition with drones has been planned at Eden Gardens.

According to CAB sources, this show will be done with around 500 drones. Hundreds of drones will fly over the night sky at Eden, making it a feast for the spectators.

Notably, a laser show was held at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, which hosted its first IPL match when Rajasthan Royals took on Punjab Kings on Wednesday, April 5.

KOLKATA METRO EXTENDS TIMINGS

Meanwhile, Kolkata Metro is set to extend the timing of the last trains on IPL match days at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The change will be implemented for Line -1 which is the Blue line of the Kolkata metro.

Usually, the last trains of the Kolkata Metro depart at 10.30 pm. However, for the IPL match days, there will be an extension of time as the last metro will be at 12.15 am (the following day) which will be from Esplanade metro station and will run both the way towards Kavi Subhas as well as towards Dakshineswar metro station.

Eastern Railway CPRO, Kaushik Mitra said, “It is good news for every sports lover of Kolkata that we are extending the metro timings on the days of IPL matches from Kolkata. The last train will be at 12.15 am from Esplanade stations towards both ways.”