KKR team. Photo- KKR X
KKR team. Photo- KKR X

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing IPL 2024 by a huge margin of 98 runs, were unable to return home to Kolkata due to heavy rains in the city.

The Indian Meteorological Department had forecasted heavy thundershowers in Kolkata on Monday. And the prediction came true as torrential rain fell in Kolkata, which has seen record-high temperatures in recent days and weeks, with photos of waterlogged streets appearing on TV broadcasts and social media.

The Shreyas Iyer-led team would have wanted to rest after their stunning 98-run triumph against LSG before hosting MI at Eden Gardens. But this was not the case, as they were trapped in the flight until 3 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7.

KKR flight diverted to Guwahati and then forced to spend night in Varanasi due to heavy rains in Kolkata

As per the KKR management, the contingent had left Lucknow at 5.45 pm IST, and they were scheduled to land in Kolkata at 7.25 pm.

An update at 8.46pm said, “Due to inclement weather over Kolkata, the KKR charter flight has been diverted to Guwahati. We’ve just landed here.” Then, at 9.43pm, “We’ve got clearance to fly back to Kolkata now, from Guwahati. Estimated arrival at 11pm.”

However, the ordeal was not over for the players and support staff as multiple attempts to land the flight failed, forcing the officials to divert the flight mid-air to Varanasi.

“Flight took off from Guwahati to Kolkata, was scheduled to land at 11 PM. Couldn’t land once again due to bad weather, despite several attempts. Diverted mid-air to Varanasi now. Just landed here,” said an update at 1:15 a.m.

The KKR contingent then had to spend the night in Varanasi after checking into a hotel.

“The team would be checking into Varanasi hotel for overnight stay. Return flight to Kolkata TBD on Tuesday (7 May) afternoon,” the KKR media team said in the final update at 3:00 a.m.

Fortunately for them, and the IPL in general, KKR’s next game is only on Saturday, almost a week’s gap from their last outing. They take on Mumbai Indians at home at Eden Gardens, before finishing off their league engagements in Ahmedabad (vs Gujarat Titans on May 13) and Guwahati (vs Rajasthan Royals on May 19).

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