IPL 2012 Opening Ceremony: IPL party begins with star-studded opening ceremony as fans swoon

CHENNAI: "Are you ready for it?" If Piggy Chops asks you out for a party, can you ever say no?

It doesn't matter if Suresh Raina doesn't like her, the vivacious Priyanka set the stage on fire as Aaj ki raat became the perfect appetizer for the next 55 nights.

If you thought no party could ever match the real action, you should have been there. The two hours whizzed by, as if it was just a super T20 game, not even giving you time to catch your breath. If Amitabh Bachchan's recital of Prasoon Joshi's poem embodied all that is pure and beautiful in the sport called cricket, Salman Khan's medley of his own songs was like the slog overs of an innings. The excitement just didn't stop.

And then, of course, there was the girl from California, Katy. "We love you Katy," the posters had started going up right from the beginning, and when she hit the stage with "fireworks", the temperature rose by a few degrees on a balmy April evening.

It was goose-bump stuff right at the beginning, when Big B, in his baritone voice, recited: "Janam yadi fir se mile, to itna sa chahunga mein..." It seemed he was talking for every Indian who is so crazy about cricket.

When it's all about the game itself, how can the cricketers be far away? Chennai's domination of the Indian Premier League came up time and again and when Priyanka asked MSD whether he can make it three-in-a-row, the Super Singham smiled. "There are quite a few good teams. But we will give our best shot once again," Dhoni said, as the crowd burst into raptures.

When Kareena follows Priyanka, there's bound to be a sense of competition. As the Chammak Challo girl took the stage after the Jungli billi, Kareena fans got up from their seats. And Kareena made it sure that she didn't let her fans down.

Raina, clearly a member of the Kareena club, was over the moon. "Who did you like more? Kareena or Priyanka?" the left-hander was asked. "I think it was Kareena. Whatever she did was just awesome," Raina, pretty much in the party mood, said.

Kapoor, in the middle of all the Bollywood razzmatazz, tried to keep the cricket flavour going by asking Sourav Ganguly what makes the IPL so special. The former India captain talked about the platform that the tournament provides. "You have somebody like me or Gilly who have left cricket long back as one of the captains. And then you have a guy like Harbhajan leading another side...And then, of course there are all the young talented players who get the chance to showcase their talent," he said.

Ganguly, Dravid and Gilchrist really added a retro feel to the whole show, but one man who was missed was Sachin Tendulkar. It's hard to think of a union of top Indian players without the Little Master, but he was probably at his hotel room, preparing for the ball to roll on Wednesday.

Cricket-Ponting feels back in the groove

Australia batsman Ricky Ponting said he was confident his century against India in Sydney last week would signal the start of a revival in his batting career.
Ponting, the third highest run-scorer in tests behind India's Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, scored 134 in Sydney, his first hundred since he made 209 against Pakistan two years ago in Hobart.
"I've had to work really hard with my game the last few months and I felt that I made a bit of progress the last few weeks," Ponting, 37, told reporters in Perth on Wednesday, two days before the start of the third test.
"I think the biggest challenge for me was the technical flaws that I've been working on and getting enough quality time in the middle and starting to feel that bit more free again and I feel my rhythm is starting to come back in my batting.

The league of T20 champions begin

BANGALORE: All is set for the third edition of the Champions League T20 to get under way at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday night. Never mind if the injury-hit Mumbai Indians no longer look like a Mumbai or Indian outfit, so what if defending champions Chennai Super Kings have a very tired (mentally and physically ) captain leading them out on Saturday a day after Royal Challengers Bangalore field at home at least three foreign players who haven't played a game of cricket for months. This is the World Cup of club cricket and nothing can take that fact away. With a prize money of $6 million, among the players at least this has become the tournament to qualify for. You could see that in Hyderabad on Wednesday when you could not make out which team had won or lost. For both Somerset and the Kolkata Knight Riders, the entry into the main tournament was what needed to be celebrated. Talk to players from the teams that have landed in India from around the cricketing world and you will know that the CLT20 has become a must-be-there event in their calendar. The tournament as such is an open affair, the star value in the IPL teams (there are four of them around this time) being somewhat negated by the extra cohesiveness in the other outfits who play together more often. Any of the ten teams who'll be on view is capable of bagging the trophy and the $2.5 million that will come with it. For the teams from Australia and South Africa, both the advantage and disadvantage could be that they are coming out of a long break even as the lone English team that has qualified, Somerset, will hope to ride on the match practice obtained in their just- concluded first-class season. play together more often. Any of the ten teams who'll be on view is capable of bagging the trophy and the $2.5 million that will come with it. For the teams from Australia and South Africa, both the advantage and disadvantage could be that they are coming out of a long break even as the lone English team that has qualified, Somerset, will hope to ride on the match practice obtained in their just- concluded first-class season.

Varun Aaron 'wasted' in England:Akram

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram criticised the Indian team management in England for not fielding Varun Aaron in the one-day series, saying that the young paceman has been "wasted" in the seaming conditions which should have suited his bowling. "I was expecting to see Aaron play the ODIs. But the Indian team management made a mess by not blooding Aaron in conditions that were tailor-made for the quickie. This raises questions about the communication between the selectors and the team management," Akram said. "I would rather blood Aaron in England because the seaming conditions are ideal for him. It will be silly to give Aaron a start on Indian wickets. On placid tracks where he will get little support, two bad matches in the start of his career can destroy him," said the legendary fast bowler.ittle support, two bad matches in the start of his career can destroy him," said the legendary fast bowler.

India plans a fitting ODI farewell for The Wall

Cardiff: Ending what has been a nightmarish tour positively is not the only motivation for the Indian team to win the final cricket ODI against England as the side would also want to ensure a fitting farewell to veteran stalwart Rahul Dravid, who plays his final ODI today, Friday. Dravid, who has amassed 10,820 runs in 343 ODIs at an average of 39, has announced his retirement from one-day cricket after this series and he would be keen to go on a high, more so since the first four games of the series have only yielded 51 runs to him. The 38-year-old right-hander, nicknamed `The Wall` for his rock solid defence and consistency, has scored 12 hundreds and 82 fifties in the ODIs and he would want to notch up a big knock tomorrow to make his swan song appearance memorable. Aside from this, the match is of academic interest only as England have already won the series. The hosts are leading 2-0 after one match was rained out and another ended in a tie also due to rain interruptions. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men would be keen to get at least a consolation win on what has been a massively disappointing series.

Gambhir to miss KKR CLT20 qualifiers

Mumbai: Kolkata Knight Riders have announced that their injured skipper Gautam Gambhir will miss the Champions T20 League qualifiers and his availability for the main tournament, if the team makes it, will depend on his regaining complete fitness. South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis will be leading KKR in Gautam's absence, a release from KKR said on Tuesday. The qualifiers of the league will begin on September 19 in Hyderabad with KKR clashing with Auckland Aces. KKR will lock horns with Somerset on September 21 in their second and last qualifying match. Gambhir had suffered a concussion when he hurt his head while attempting a catch during the fourth match of the England-India Test series. Gambhir had fallen on his head while running backwards to take a catch of Kevin Pietersen at mid-on on the second day of the last cricket Test at The Oval. He suffered a concussion and has been complaining of blurred vision.

Djokovic defeats Nadal to win US open

Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer on Saturday, beat Rafael Nadal and a bad back yesterday and put the final beatdown on his historic tennis year. Djokovic is the new King of Flushing and the tennis world. The Ashe Stadium crowd chanted “No-vak!” across yesterday’s glorious match, knowing it was watching history. Djokovic put the last stamp on arguably the most accomplished tennis year ever in surviving a four-set, four- hour baseline classic against the Spanish warrior Nadal. Laboring in the final set with a sore rib and a cranky back, Djokovic ascended to his first of what could be several U.S. Open titles with a ferocious 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 victory, capturing his third Grand Slam of the year and extending his unbelievable 2011 record to 64-2. “What a match, what a year,” legend Martina Navratilova said to Djokovic’s photogenic girlfriend, Jelena Ristic, outside the champagne-soaked men’s locker room. “Enjoy it now because we may never see it again.”aid to Djokovic’s photogenic girlfriend, Jelena Ristic, outside the champagne-soaked men’s locker room. “Enjoy it now because we may never see it again.”