With the euphoria of India?s World Cup winning saga still raining in the wind, the fourth season of the cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced on Friday evening with a colourful inauguration ceremony where Bollywood stars and singers performed to usher the mood of the tournament.
Hundreds of dancers clad in beautiful bright colours like red, orange an blue danced all throughout the stadium to make the audience get hooked to the IPL spirit.
The attraction of the night was a gala performance of Shah Rukh Khan who danced and grooved on his popular numbers.
Chennai also witnessed a performance by B-town singers like Raghav, Kunal Ganjawala and the gorgeous Sunidhi Chauhan.
The entire field tabbed as Taufiq Qureshi jammed his drums along with several performers who jammed with the ?dhak? and ?dhol? (musical instruments) in the glittering night.
The post-Lalit Modi IPL kicked off at the decked-up MA Chidambaram Stadium with a clash of not just two teams but of of the two key members of the World Cup winning side- Dhoni and Gambir- as they face off in the inaugural match of the domestic Twenty20 cricket league.
When champions Chennai Super Kings meet Shah Rukh Khan?s Kolkata Knight Riders here Friday, all eyes will be on M S Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir, the two heroes of the scintillating World Cup final match.
While Dhoni leads Chennai Super Kings, Gambhir captains a reorganized KKR sans Sourav Ganguly.
The captains of the two opening teams exuded confidence.
?The World Cup is history. I am not concerned what MS would be doing, but am more focused on my team and what we want to do,? Gambhir who moved to Kolkata after three seasons with the Delhi Daredevils, was quoted by the site of one of the teams.
According to Chennai Super Kings, their captain Dhoni exuded quiet confidence that is so typical of him.
Dhoni said the Super Kings came out best in the auctions, retaining their core players who played critical roles in the team reaching the final in 2008, semi-finals in 2009 and winning the trophy last year.
Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming concurred with Dhoni when he said: ?There has been a lot of talk and discussion on how the teams are on paper. We are happy to get a majority of the players who were with us in the past three seasons.
?And so, we can possibly get into the system straightaway as a majority of the players know what to expect. It is better than starting from scratch,? he said.
Gambhir has no such luxury, but said the KKR team has had several meetings in a bid to get to know each other.
Shah Rukh Khan said KKR is returning ?stronger, tougher and even more determined to take the IPL by storm.?
?We have taken it in our stride to not only be the unrelenting champions of tomorrow but also continue to honour the title of the ?people’s team? bestowed upon us. This year too, we will aim to mirror your expectations and win over every heart and mind in the county,? Khan said.
This edition of IPL, after Modi was deposed, has Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Chirayu Amin as its chairman.
The fourth edition features ten team, with two new franchises- Sahara Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers. They are divided in two groups- A and B with five teams in each section.
A total of 74 matches as against 60 in the last edition are schedule in the 51-day extravaganza.
Group A consists of Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Pune Warriors India.
Group B has Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.