"These are exciting times for Indian cricket," IPL Commissioner Chirayu Amin said, opening the show. "The league comes at a time when the nation is still rejoicing the World Cup victory," he said. Commentators on TV said they saw a good crowd gathering even a hour-and-half before the opening ceremony.
If India was still rejoicing the World Cup victory, it was also backing social activist Anna Hazare in his protest against corruption. And even as Chennai was gearing up for the show, quite a few Tweeters urged the IPL to back Hazare in his movement. It was none other than former IPL chief Lalit Modi who Tweeted thus: "IPL organisers should also use the IPL to spread the world to support anti-corruption movea¦ I too am a victim of political corruption at the highest level. Only allegation for past year and not one charge - but they continue to crucify."
On the field, there was as in previous editions a lot of song and dance. The star of the show was Bollywood star and Kolkata Knight Riders' owner Shah Rukh Khan who danced to Chak De India and then to some Tamil super-hits too. Khan also mimicked the Tamil words 'Chennai, Ellam seriya iruka?' ('Chennai, is everything fine?'). The song and dance party was noticeably lean on overseas performers compared to previous years. SRK got one loud cheer when he mentioned Tamil superstar Rajinikanth.
"The ground is not completely full, people are still coming in now," said Bala Manian, who was there at the stadium, along with 20 of her friends.
Dhoni, who got an overwhelming round of cheer in his 'home' ground, along with captains of the nine other IPL teams signed the MCC spirit of cricket banner - 'Play Hard, Play Fair.'
This year's edition comes with a rejigged format. That's because instead of eight teams, there are 10. The new ones represent Kochi and Pune. There would be 51 days of action, which is more than the duration of the recently-concluded World Cup. There would be 74 matches, compared to 60 last year.
Last year's IPL was notable for the controversies and allegations of corruption that eventually led to the ouster of Lalit Modi. Recent reports have indicated that IPL's brand value has fallen as a result of the charges. The Chennai team won last year's edition.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
IPL-4 kicks off with a colourful opening ceremony in Chennai
Shahrukh Khan performs during the opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Chennai.
CHENNAI: Less than a week after India ended a month-and-a-half long World Cup campaign on a victorious note, Chennai showed little signs of cricket fatigue as it welcomed the Indian Premier League with celebratory cheer and noise. And, of course, a good turnout at the MA Chidambaram stadium for the fourth season opener between MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings and, for the first time, a 'dada'-less Kolkata Knight Riders . ( Click here for full coverage of IPL-4 )
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