Heavy rain failed to dampen the spirit of ‘City of Joy’ as a dazzling Bollywood-style opening ceremony kick started the eighth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket after a one and a half hour delay at the decked-up Salt Lake stadium.
The cheer was loud for Virat Kohli, louder for Mahendra Singh Dhoni but loudest for their ‘very own’ Gautam Gambhir.
While Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan stole the show with his electrifying dance performance, leading lady Anushka Sharma brought on a lot of panache with her performance.
The versatile Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor regaled the crowd, both performing to their respective numbers from movies such as Rock On and Kaminey. Shahid hit a ramp slightly and then slipped on the stage before recovering quickly.
The eight skippers led by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni signed the MCC Spirit of Cricket pledge to start IPL-8 formally in front of Ravi Shastri before they posed for a formal group photo.
Bollywood then took centrestage with Haider actor Shahid making an entry in a motorcycle to the tunes of local hero Bappi Lahiri.
The ceremony began after an one hour and 30 minutes delay with a traditional Rabindra Sangeet rendition of ‘Ananda Loke’. Women wearing traditional bengali sarees danced to the famous song as music director Pritam started the show.
One of the greatest entertainers of the curtailed ceremony was Anushka, who took to the stage amid chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ while the Royal Challengers skipper made a quick entry to the VVIP box to catch the performance. Kohli, who had come with a backpack, was seen leaving the box soon after Anushka’s 10-minute performance got over.