Kolkata, June 2 (IANS): Acknowledging the spirit of Kolkata to relish sporting events, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said the winners of the seventh Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), will be accorded a grand reception here.
"The people deserve to celebrate... the people in Bengal have always loved sports like cricket and football. It is their spirit. I congratulate KKR for the win and they will get a reception tomorrow (Tuesday)," Mamata told reporters here.
Soon after the Knights recorded a three-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in the IPL final Sunday night, Banerjee conveyed her congratulations to the team in a post on social networking site Facebook. "Congratulations... KKR... Congratulations...shahrukh," she said in the Facebook post.
She also congratulated Kings XI batsman Wriddhiman Saha for his brilliant performance.
Bengal boy Saha scored a 55-ball 115 run knock to become the first player to score a century in any IPL final.
In 2012, when KKR lifted the IPL trophy for the first time, the chief minister had feted the team outside the state secretariat Writers' Buildings and then travelled in the team bus with Shah Rukh Khan to the jampacked Eden Gardens, where a civic reception was given to the victorious side. A cultural gala was also organised.
The state government and Cricket Association of Bengal will jointly host the squad and its owners Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla Tuesday at the Eden Gardens, in a rerun of the glittery 2012 felicitations.