A spectacular and vibrant opening ceremony, showcasing a huge dash of Bollywoood-style entertainment, on Friday marked the launch of the fourth edition of the IPL, the Twenty20 extravaganza which has gained immense popularity since its inception. The evening sky over the M A Chidambaram stadium lit up with dazzling fireworks as BCCI President Shashank Manohar declared the cash-rich event open amidst thunderous cheers from a capacity crowd
The highlight of the show was a dance performance by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is also co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders. He enthralled the huge gathering by dancing on some famous numbers from his flicks such as 'Chak-de India' and 'Billu'. Shah Rukh entertained the crowd by saying a few lines in local language Tamil and his dance show also included some magic.
The one-hour ceremony started with all the 10 captains signing the MCC spirit of cricket banner. While all the captains were cheered as they came to the podium, the loudest applause was reserved for Indian captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, the Man-of-the-tournament in the World Cup.
The BCCI President welcomed the two new entrants to the League and expressed hope that the new edition will produce more memorable moments. His speech was followed by a performance by the famous Prince Dance Group. The groups of dancers, painted from head to toe in saffron, green and white, the colours of the Indian flag, put up a nicely co-ordinated show with sounds and lights.
It was followed by a percussion show by Taufiq Qureishi's Mumbai Stamp and then came the singing trio of Mansai, Sona and Akriti, who sang 'Aa Dekhen Zara' from yesteryears' hit movie 'Rocky'. Hit Bollywood singers Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan took spotlight with some of their chartbusters and the ceremony finally concluded with Shah Rukh Khan's performance.
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