A derby not for the faint-hearted!

It is most likely that you would assume an Indian sporting fixture that regularly attracts more than a lakh could only be a game of cricket. Certainly not in Kolkata, where on Saturday, hundreds of thousands thronged the city's Salt Lake Stadium for the latest instalment of the 'Boro Derby', as East Bengal locked horns with Mohun Bagan in what might well be the most heavily-attended and historically significant derby one has never heard of.

In fact, there appears to be a bubbling effervescence escaping the stadium each time the two take the field that makes fans want to jump the ticket barriers to get in. "The first derby game I attended was in January 1998. Four of us went, my dad and I the maroons, and my uncle and my cousin the reds. At the half time, with Bagan winning 1-0 and our stand being a sea of green and maroon scarves, everything seemed so sweet. At the final whistle, Bagan had won 2-1, I remember I was in floods of tears and inconsolable. I was only six at that time," Prasun Sengupta told Mid-Day.

Also Read: Gold medal surprises Maharashtra weightlifter Tatgunti

This was the 393rd meeting of the two sides - with East Bengal having won 139 games while Mohun Bagan boasting of 128 derby wins to date. The Kolkata derby truly transcends the boundaries of a mere football game, evolving into a deeply ingrained cultural phenomenon that ignites passions and stirs emotions across the football-crazed landscape.

"This is the manifestation of Bengal's east-west divide, a battle that has been going on among Bengalis for many decades. As fans, we don't get to choose the team that we like the most; we're born or bred into it. (laughs) I have been to 23 derbies so far in my life, the experiences of which have always been different. No two derbies are the same. But like you said, it's the fans who make it all worthwhile," added Sengupta.

Saturday's derby swung in different ways in the course of 90 minutes, with both sides netting one goal each in either half to win a point to their names. Mohun Bagan struck in the space of six minutes after East Bengal, high on confidence after winning the Kalinga Super Cup, got the lead as the two traditional rivals settled for a 2-2 draw in an otherwise lacklustre ISL derby clash at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan.

Also Read: Sweep first, spin later

East Bengal drew the first blood in the third minute when their marquee fullback Nishu Kumar lobbed in an inch-perfect delivery for Ajay Chhetri inside the 18-yard box and the young midfield put it past the Bagan defenders that got the crowd going from the get-go.

But the joy was short lived as the Mariners, who remained undefeated, brought the match on an even keel and it was a clinical finish by striker Armando Sadiku who made amends for the uneven scoresheet in the 17th minute. Yet, much of that credit goes to Brendan Hamill, who successfully carved in a magnificent delivery that Sadiku broke no sweat in drawing the scores level.

The second-half was all about hits and misses but neither team could make a perfect finish. But the red-gold brigade was in no mood to step back, and Hamill's substitution due to an injury in the 52nd minute agreed to work perfectly in their favour. With Glan Martins replacing Hamill, Mohun Bagan upped their game, with Naorem Mahesh Singh earning a foul off Deepak Tangri in no time, catching East Bengal completely off guard. Cleiton Silva did the captain's job of leading his time to safe shores and pulled off a delightful panenka that took Vishal Kaith by surprise.

It was, therefore, clearly evident that East Bengal was truly on course to rounding off their third Kolkata Derby win of the season, after beating the Mariners once each in the Durand Cup and the Super Cup. But that could not materialise with Sahal Abdul Samad on the field. Sahal gave a brilliant pass deep inside his own half for Dimitrios Petratos in the 88th minute, and the forward didn't disappoint one bit.