The eighth annual Indian Premier League campaign moved within touching distance on Tuesday as a nation celebrated the impending start to the season at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium.
Rain caused a delay to proceedings, but it would take more than some wet weather to prevent the India masses from ushering in another IPL season in jubilant mood.
Actor Saif Al Khan welcomed a packed Salt Lake Stadium audience to Kolkata, and despite there remaining a light drizzle overhead, nothing could dampen the mood of those waiting in anticipation of Wednesday's opening match.
Per CricketNext, it then came the turn of the team captains to take centre stage, with Shane Watson, JP Duminy and MS Dhoni among those leading the parade alongside their fellow armband-wearers:
Kolkata Knight Riders will play host to Mumbai Indians in Wednesday's season-opening fixture, hoping to begin their title defence with a positive start to 2015.
And it was unsurprisingly Gautam Gambir, the Knight Riders captain, who received the largest applause as he strut on centre stage with trophy in hand, per Amrita Tanna of Biz Asia:
The captains had duties to care of as part of the opening ceremony, too, Spirit of Game oath before then signing the Spirit of Cricket bat, per the official Indian Premier League Twitter account:
There were pyrotechnics, fireworks and other visual splendours on show as actor Shahid Kapoor stole the limelight with an electric performance to steer attention firmly back to the festivities.
At times, one would have been forgiven for mistaking the opening ceremony for a concert rather than any event holding the faintest ties to sport.
The links were abound later on in the ceremony, however, as Anushka Sharma took to the stage for her segment.
The girlfriend of Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli delighted the Salt Lake Stadium with her performance:
Actor-cum-singer Farhan Akhtar then took centre stage with his aptly named band, Farhan, to provide a different musical injection.
However, Farhan's display receive mixed reviews, with some seeing the lead singer's contribution as sub-par:
All that was merely building to a crescendo provided by Hrithik Roshan, whose performance brought a climactic end to proceedings at Salt Lake Stadium.
The opening ceremony was a welcome beginning to the 2015 campaign, but attention now turns to the real action as fans await Wednesday's official opener with bated breath.
Supporters will be anxious to find out which of the eight teams is in finest form coming into the new season and who will cope best with some of their post-World Cup absences.
One thing for certain is the IPL looks primed for another stellar quest comprising only the elite of the cricket community, with the opening ceremony providing a fitting foundation to build from.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1H2A1hs
via IFTTT April 07, 2015 at 11:07AM
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