Lengthy Bollywood style opening ceremony launches IPL-V cricket

Chennai, Apr 4 (PTI) Bollywood superstars Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and American pop sensation Katy Perry were the highlights of a lengthy opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 Cricket tournament here last night. Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, returning to work after two abdominal surgeries earlier this year, started the proceedings for the evening with a rendition of a poem 'If I were to be born again', written by renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi. The rendition started to the ceremony, which set the stage for the 54-day extravaganza featuring nine teams who would be locked in a battle for the next two months. South African percussion band First Project, composer DJ Ravi Drums and Colonial Cousins then took the stage and churned out their brand of music. Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra then put her dancing shoes and performed to hit numbers from her films such as 'Don', 'Don 2' and 'Kaminey', which even saw India spinner Harbhajan Singh shaking a leg along with her. India's dancing sensation and Chennai's own Prabhu Deva then burned the dance floor with his performance where he danced to songs from films such as 'Wanted' and 'Hum Se Hai Muqabalah'. Two-time title winners, Chennai Super Kings then took the stage and Priyanka Chopra shared some light moments with the cricketers as she quizzed skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and also taught Australian Doug Bollinger and Indian spinner R Ashwin some dancing steps. The 'Chammak Challo' of the Tinsel town, Kareena Kapoor then performed her dance numbers from films such as 'Ra One' and the latest 'Agent Vinod'. The opening Nite then saw the oath taking ceremony by the skippers of the nine teams, including retired Rahul Dravid and Australian Adam Gilchrist, as they signed the MCC Spirit of Cricket pledge. Defending champions CSK skipper Dhoni placed the trophy back on the podium and Indian cricket board president N Srinivasan and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla then joined the players on stage. "IPL has grown from strength to strength and has established itself as a premiere tournament. BCCI is extremely proud of this achievement. But who is the cause? First the commitment of the players both international and domestic, who participated in the event, the enthusiasm of the franchises and assistance of the supporting stuffs and the cricket fans in India and around the world have contributed to its great success. We expect IPL V to be no less," Srinivasan said. Shukla then flagged off the fifth edition, saying: "It gives me a great pleasure to flag off the fifth edition of the DLF Indian Premier League, an arena where quality international and domestic cricketers take part in intense contest of strategy and skill. IPL is a platform where talent meets opportunity." The matches, in all numbering 76, will be played from tomorrow in the evening or night in major Indian cities with the final slated for May 27. PTI Caption for pic: Bollywood actor Salman Khan performs during the opening night function and concert of IPL cricket tournament in Chennai on Tuesday. PTI Photo (Courtesy IPL/SPORTZPICS)