Around 70,000 fans turned up to welcome the Kolkata Knight Riders players for their maiden IPL title win after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee felicitated them.

They had the first stop at Jadu Babur Bazar for a short felicitation en route to the Writers Building via Akashvani Bhavan, the point from where the crowd was not allowed.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee felicitated the players at the Writers Building as the team made their way for the grand celebration at the Eden Gardens, organised by the state government, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Cricket Association of Bengal.
 

A dais had been constructed before the central gate of the state secretariat, with a huge banner 'Knights Become Kings, Bengal Celebrates' to welcome the team

"Shah Rukh did not sleep. Nor did he let us sleep," said team member Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

The Knights' celebrations started on the Chepauk ground itself, soon after Manoj Tiwary hit Dwayne Bravo to the square leg fence fifteen minutes to the midnight to fashion a five-wicket triumph over the Chennai Super Kings.

Shah Rukh rushed to the ground, did some cart-wheeling, hugged all members of the side and danced to the tune of "Chhammak chhallo". His wife Gauri Khan was by his side, taking part in the celebrations.

Model Poonam Pandey has posted a nude picture of her on twitter to celebrate Kolkata Knight Riders' win against Chennai Super Kings at the IPL season five finale.
 

The 21-year-old had first made news when she wanted to bare all at India's World Cup win last year, but could not keep her promise.

Gautam Gambhir calls it Operation Total Transformation, a year long process that helped his team beat Chennai Super Kings with dramatic finality to win the Indian Premier League, capping a season of exceptional performances.

"The victory hasn't sunk it yet. I am happy the team worked as a cohesive unit, we bonded well. I told everyone that small is big. Do not ridicule small contributions: the 15 runs on board, a great save, one maiden spell. It all works," he told Mail Today in an interview.

When he took over the KKR captaincy in 2011, the team was passing through its worst crisis. He helped the team finished fourth and sat with the management to build a champion team.
 

He said he remained patient with underperforming players and praised their nuggety contributions. "The combination worked. We shaped some core players and continued with shuffles, the biggest coming in the finals when Bisla replaced McCullum. But it worked because the team worked."

Shah Rukh Khan, also the state’s brand ambassador, on Tuesday said there was “nothing wrong” in the grand felicitation organised by the state government for his IPL-V winning team.

As Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee organised the fete involving Governor MK Narayanan and spent lavishly on the champions KKR side by giving them golden lockets, many ridiculed the move as it had been organised for a club team.