When Pele was left mesmerised in 'football capital' of India
Kolkata (PTI): Much before Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' moment stirred the football passion in the region, it was the Brazilian maestro Pele who began Bengal's tryst with the 'beautiful game'.
Playing against Mohun Bagan on a slushy and jam-packed Eden Gardens on September 24, 1977 in the twilight of his career, the three-time World Cup winner was overwhelmed by the depth of talent a "little known" Indian club possessed.
Desperately seeking a revival after the dominance of arch-rivals East Bengal, the PK Banerjee-coached Mariners not only stopped the 'King of Football' from scoring a goal, but almost won 2-1 before a controversial penalty made it a 2-2 draw against the star-studded New York Cosmos.
PK had given mid-fielder Gautam Sarkar the big task of man-marking Pele and playing in the dream match of his life, he had given it all, something that was later acknowledged by the legend himself.
In the evening, Mohun Bagan had organised a felicitation ceremony for Pele where he was to be handed a diamond ring but the 'Black Pearl' was more interested in meeting the players first.
Goalkeeper Shibaji Banerjee was the first one in the list.
When the name of the sixth player was announced, Pele, surrounded by a galaxy of people, came out of the barricade and hugged the player.
"Sporting a wry smile he told me, 'So, you are that number 14 who did not allow me to move...' I was left awe-struck," Sarkar remembered that evening vividly, even after 45 years.
"Chunida (Chuni Goswami) was there standing beside me on the dias and heard all this. He soon told me: 'Gautam you now give up football -- what's there to achieve after hearing this compliment'. Indeed, this was the biggest achievement of my football career."
"I don't want to boast about myself, but according to a newspaper report my photo is still hanging in the New York Cosmos club. He was so overwhelmed by our play that he wanted to meet the players first. Never thought a club team from a country like India would play like this."
The exhibition match could see the light of the day because of the initiative of Dhiren Dey, a revered football administrator in Kolkata Maidan, then at the helm of Mohun Bagan as the general secretary.
"It seemed unreal when Dhirenda told us that Pele would play against us. We all told him to 'stop lying, it's unbelievable'. But as days passed and we got to know about it, we all had sleepless nights," Sarkar told PTI.
Preparation began three weeks in advance and Mohun Bagan had to prove a point.
"The prospect of playing against Pele was one of the reasons why I moved from East Bengal to Mohun Bagan. As it happened, it all changed our club's fortune," Shyam Thapa who famously gave Mohun Bagan the lead said.
Four days later, Mohun Bagan were to play against East Bengal in the coveted IFA Shield final and as it turned out, the Mariners won 1-0, ending their arch-rivals' title- winning streak.
"It was a platform for us to revive our fortunes. The result gave us much-needed confidence to face East Bengal. We found our mojo back," well-known Mohun Bagan defender Subrata Bhattacharya remembered.
They continued their revival as they went on to win the Rovers Cup and Durand Cup.
"We wanted to give everything in the field. The match helped us grow as a team," said then Mohun Bagan midfielder Prasun Banerjee, now a TMC member of Parliament.
The best chance for Pele to score came off a free-kick from the top of the box. The ball rose and spun in towards the left upright before being saved by a diving Shibaji Banerjee.
Pele revisited the city seven years back during the festive season of Durga Puja, this time with a walking stick but his aura had left everyone mesmerised, including the city's cricket icon Sourav Ganguly, a self-proclaimed Brazil fan.
"I've played three World Cups. There's a big difference between being a winner and a runner-up. To hold that World Cup and a few Golden Boots must be phenomenal," Ganguly said in awe of the great man in the felicitation ceremony at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Pele also reunited with the Mohun Bagan batch of 1977 including the legendary PK, Subhash Bhowmick and Shibaji Banerjee who are no more.
"I accepted to come here in India because I love the people here," Pele said.
The King of Football also had his sense of humour intact and gave a cheeky reply when someone in the dias asked him if there could be another Pele.
"Listen, I'm sorry. My father and my mother closed the machine. There will be no other Pele."
His last words before signing off were: "If I can help someway, I'll be here again."
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Sensex, Nifty extend gains for 3rd day on strong global cues, lower US inflation
Mumbai, Jan 16: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for the third session on the trot on Thursday, helped by a rally in global markets after lower-than-expected consumer inflation in the US ignited hopes of more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Intense buying in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also boosted sentiments, traders said.
The 30-share BSE index climbed 318.74 points or 0.42 per cent to revisit 77,000 level at 77,042.82. During the day, it jumped 595.42 points or 0.77 per cent to 77,319.50.
On the similar lines, the NSE Nifty rallied 98.60 points or 0.42 per cent to 23,311.80.
As many as 2,778 stocks advanced, while 1,188 declined and 101 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Unabated foreign fund inflows, weakness in the rupee and elevated global crude prices continue to weigh on domestic equity markets, traders said.
"Benchmark indices continued to trade in the positive, albeit off highs, driven by positive investor sentiment following mild US inflation data, which raised hopes for a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
"Additionally, favourable developments in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and a reduced trade deficit further boosted the market's upward movement. However, weak economic growth data from the UK dampened some of this optimism," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Maruti, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank were the biggest gainers.
In contrast, HCL Tech, Nestle, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, ITC and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
IT services major Infosys on Thursday reported an 11.46 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,806 crore in the October-December quarter of FY25.
Shares of Infosys slipped 1.21 per cent to settle at Rs 1,926.20 apiece on the BSE.
Meanwhile, Adani group stocks rallied on Thursday after Hindenburg Research founder Nate Anderson announced that he would disband the firm, which made international waves with campaigns targeting billionaire Gautam Adani that wiped billions from the market value of his group companies.
Shares of NDTV surged 9.15 per cent, Ambuja Cements jumped 3.88 per cent, Adani Green Energy rallied 3.35 per cent, Sanghi Industries climbed 3.34 per cent and Adani Power went up by 2.45 per cent on the BSE.
The stock of Adani Ports advanced 2.03 per cent, Adani Total Gas (1.78 per cent), Adani Enterprises (1.74 per cent), Adani Energy Solutions (1.54 per cent) and ACC (0.77 per cent).
Shares of Adani Wilmar, however, declined 1.19 per cent.
"Nifty has regained momentum, closing at 23,312, buoyed by demand and reclaiming the 23,300 mark, as Wall Street's strong performance helped bulls take charge. Risk-on sentiments were sparked by cooler-than-expected US CPI inflation data for December, easing concerns about rising inflation and boosting expectations that the Fed might continue its rate-cutting cycle throughout the year.
"This, coupled with a weaker US dollar (now at 109) and a drop in the 10-year US bond yield to 4.65 per cent, has further strengthened investor confidence," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.43 per cent while the midcap index climbed 0.92 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, services jumped 1.93 per cent, industrials (1.73 per cent), metal (1.63 per cent), telecommunication (1.61 per cent), capital goods (1.56 per cent) and commodities (1.51 per cent).
IT, Consumer durables, teck and BSE-focused IT were the laggards.
"The Nifty continued its upward momentum for the third straight session, closing 98 points higher (0.42 per cent) at 23,311, driven by positive global sentiment. Asian markets tracked Wall Street's gains, responding favourably to US core inflation data that reinforced expectations of potential Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025," Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory.
Equity markets in Europe were quoting higher. US markets rallied on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,533.49 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The rupee depreciated 16 paise to close at 86.56 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.18 per cent to USD 81.88 a barrel.
In the previous session, the BSE benchmark rose 224.45 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 76,724.08 on Wednesday. The Nifty advanced 37.15 points or 0.16 per cent to 23,213.20.
