T20 World Cup 2016: Kolkata, a final hosted with heavy heart

March 31, 2016. A day when India had a reason to be sad. It is always hard on the hosts when they get eliminated before the final. India‘s performances in the tournament had been more of individual performances than a collective team effort. Still, no matter how, they were in the contest. Hopes were still alive; there were still chances of witnessing the heroes of modern Indian cricket lift the trophy for the second time. India pulled off a decent job with the bat, if not very good. Bowlers were there who had done miracles before, but it was not India’s day. MS Dhoni kept shuffling his bowlers, even gave Virat Kohli a try. He succeeded in his first stint, scalping the much-needed wicket and maintaining a good economy rate, but then, he is not a regular bowler. The final over saw Kohli put up a valiant effort. Live Cricket Score: England vs West Indies, T20 World Cup 2016, Final at Kolkata

West Indies defeated India to reach the final of ICC World T20 2016 to try and win it for the second time. The dreams of 1.3 billion Indians were shattered with the defeat; Kolkata, a city apparently crazy about sports, quite obviously was also sad. Their home team were out of contest, but there was still a final to be hosted. A final of a mega-ICC event. But that was not the only reason.

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Kolkata faced a tragedy the same day India were knocked out of World T20 2016. During peak hours, in the busy, congested area of Posta, an under-construction bridge collapsed, taking away over 25 lives and leaving nearly a hundred injured. A pall of gloom was cast over the City of Joy.

People were mourned. Crowds queued up to donate blood for strangers. And after two days after the tragedy, Kolkata are ready to welcome a pack of the greatest entertainers of sport. Of course they will don black armbands, but there will be no compromise on the turnover and quality of support for twenty-two cricketers who are not their own.

For Eden Gardens, host to one of the most emotional crowds in the world, the show may be the an emotionally strong gesture. It will be a special World T20 final in more ways than one, indeed.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)