When Stars Descended on Chinnaswamy Stadium
Bangalore, Jun 5 (DHNS): Taking the city’s cinema buffs to dizzy heights and throwing the traffic cops in a tizzy, the much-awaited Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) made a dramatic mark at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
It took time to fill up the stadium. But the presence of CCL brand ambassadors Shriya Saran and Priyamani; Salman Khan, the owner of Mumbai Heroes; Sonakshi Sinha and others was enough to rev up the event.
Celebrities from the Kannada entertainment industry including TV artistes were present in full strength, and that did enough to excite the crowd. A live performance by Sonu Niigaam only added to the glitz.
Before the stars donned the cricketers’ mantle and got onto game mode, a folkish opening awaited the crowds. With Vijay Prakash belting out one folk song after another, the stadium had a dose of Yakshagana, Nandi Kolu, Pooja Kunita and Dollu Kunita.
The stage was now set for the first match between Chennai Rhinos and Telugu Warriors.
After winning the toss, the Rhinos chose to bat first. But, unexpected rain stopped the match for a while and the match was restricted to 14 overs according to Duckworth-Lewis method. Chennai Rhinos put up a tough total of 134 runs for 6 wickets at the end of 14 overs. That was adequate to help them beat the competition by 21 runs.
Cricket apparently took the backseat. What mattered were the stars. The cheers the Karnataka Bulldozers got was proof enough of this, as the local team took on the Mumbai Heroes in the second match. Dancing in the drizzle, the fans lapped up every four and six in gay abandon.
For the record, Karnataka Bulldozers beat Mumbai Heros by seven wickets. Actors Dhruva and captain Sudeep were the star performers for the home team.