IPL Closing Ceremony | IPL 2009 Closing Ceremony | Glitz, glamour planned for IPL closing ceremony

PRETORIA: After five weeks of exhilarating cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will draw to a close in an electrifying closing ceremony at Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg Sunday.

“The closing ceremony is going to be spectacular,” IPL media director Trevor Jones told BuaNews Friday.

In a dramatic turnaround of fortunes in the IPL, last year’s bottom-placed teams Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers will vie for the title in the grand finale of the second edition of the tournament.

“The IPL has been an amazing spectacle that has surprised many in South Africa and the world. To host this tournament at short notice; the results were just amazing,” he added.

The IPL cricket tournament was shifted from India to South Africa over security concerns of the players as the government had to concentrate on the parliamentary elections.

According to a detailed programme released Friday, the line-up for the closing ceremony includes performances by world renowned music legend Eddy Grant and the American super-star Akon.

Eddy Grant will perform the popular “Walking on Sunshine” and his anti-apartheid hit song “Gimme Hope Jo’anna”.

Akon, who recently met President Jacob Zuma, will perform his Grammy award songs accompanied by Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress and co-owner of the IPL team the Rajasthan Royals.

Adding Bollywood glamour will be actress Katrina Kaif, who together with a troupe of Indian and South African dancers will perform the well-known “Jai Ho”, which was the theme song for the Oscar award wining movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.

President Zuma is expected to attend the IPL final match and would also address the stadium just before the game starts.

Other highlights on the night would include a programme featuring renowned percussionist Shivamani and a group of Indian and South African drummers.

Apart from the various musical programmes, the crowd would also be introduced to the Miss Bollywood IPL South Africa finalists, culminating with the crowning of the winner of the beauty competition.

About 1,500 flying lanterns will be lit and released, and a thrilling pyrotechnics show, using several thousand rounds of fireworks, will light up the Johannesburg skyline.

The glittering spectacle will end with a presentation ceremony for the winning cricket team.

Rohit Sharma | Rohit Sharma named best under-23 player of IPL

Deccan Chargers’ batsman Rohit Sharma has been named as the best Under-23 player of the second Indian Premier League which concludes here tomorrow.

Rohit was selected unanimously for the award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, by former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and MAK Pataudi, the adjudicators of the award.

The 22-year-old right-hander from Mumbai won the award by virtue of the 333 runs he scored in the league stages of the Twenty20 tournament at an average of 27.75 and a strike rate of 119. Apart from his brilliance with the bat, Rohit also shone with the ball, having taken 11 wickets at an average of 11.45, including a hat-trick.

“It is a great honour to be named the Under-23 Success of the League. I’ve been pleased with my form in South Africa, it has been a fantastic competition and I have really enjoyed it,” an elated Rohit said.

“To be recognised for my achievements by three of the living legends of Indian cricket is a great thrill for me,” he added.

Impressed with Rohit’s performance, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said, “Rohit’s performances have helped light up the IPL. He is without doubt one of the best young cricketers in the world, and has a very exciting future with both Deccan Chargers and India. I congratulate him on becoming the Under-23 Success of the League.”

Royal Challengers beat Super Kings, face Deccan Chargers in IPL final

Johannesburg, May 23 (IANS) Bangalore Royal Challengers defeated last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the second semi-final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wanderers here Saturday and will take on Deccan Chargers in Sunday’s final at the same venue.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 146/5 in 20 overs (Parthiv Patel 36, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 28; R. Vinay Kumar 2-28). Bangalore Royal Challengers 149/4 in 18.5 overs (Manish Pandey 48, Rahul Dravid 44).

London, May 23 (IANS) After the success of Indian Premier League (IPL) on foreign soil, chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi is now planning to host two Twenty20 leagues in a year.

Modi said that he is exploring the possibility of a second and shorter IPL in untapped markets of US and Canada while the main tournament will be based in India.

He said that hosting the IPL in South Africa has shown that there is huge opportunity for the shortest version of the game and markets of US and Canada will be ideal to globalise cricket.

Modi’s similar plans were shot down last year by then Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sharad Pawar, who felt that another IPL in a year could cramp the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) calendar.

But after IPL’s success in South Africa, Modi’s grand plans can take shape.

“The IPL will be based in India, but the second season we are planning gives us the chance to see if a market exists and we are seriously looking at what we can do with it. America throws up challenges but the format we have developed works. It is an opportunity for families to spend a day out. Apart from watching great cricket they have an enjoyable evening out. That will work anywhere,” Modi was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

“Before this tournament we did not know if we could do it. But we do know now. We have to satisfy an appetite across the world and build a fan base across the world.

“We will talk to the England and Wales Cricket Board, and South Africa are natural allies who want us to come back every year. The public and the boards want us but it is not realistic to come back to the same place every year,” he said.

Modi’s comments come at a time when other countries are finding it tough to hold back players, who are preferring IPL riches to national duty.

Modi said that the IPL has turned the challenges and adversities in moving to South Africa into an opportunity.

“It is fans who determine if you are successful or not and they have come out in force here. It has shown that the tournament can be in any region, in any country. This opens up many different opportunities for us,” Modi said.

New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Gaurav Kapur, who is hosting after-match shows of the Indian Premier League (IPL), said that he was glad to see the Twenty20 matches being played to packed stadiums in South Africa.
“It was great to see that on a lot of occasions the tickets were sold out and the audience was not just Indians but scores of locals,” Gaurav said.

“Definitely the numbers there are less because a normal ground in South Africa can accommodate 14,000-20,000 people, while in India it is four times more. But the popularity is the same,” said Gaurav, who is a self-confessed cricket fan.

Gaurav said that even though the glamour quotient at this year’s tournament was less since the venue was changed, still Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty added spice to the show.

“Bollywood presence at the IPL this year is definitely low as compared to last year. But I think the only reason is the change of venue. However, the audience in South Africa were not disappointed and were extremely excited to see Shah Rukh and Shilpa,” Gaurav, who is back from South Africa, told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

“Whenever there used to be a Kolkata Knight Riders’ match or a Rajasthan Royals’ match, people used to go mad with excitement.”

Shah Rukh is the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, while Shilpa is the co-owner of last season’s winner Rajasthan Royals. The inaugural edition of the IPL was held in India but the second version was shifted to South Africa as the dates clashed with the general elections in the country.

Gaurav will host the rest of the tournament from studios in Mumbai. The finals of the eight-team tournament will be played May 24.

Talking about his on-field experience, the former MTV VJ said: “My experience at the IPL was mixed. The games days were brilliant but the off days were boring since all I wanted was watch cricket all the time. No shopping, no sight seeing for me.”

Among the teams, Gaurav picks Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings as his favourites.

“I like the Chennai Super Kings. I got a chance to hang around with them a little. They are really nice as people and as players. I even like the way Deccan Chargers have done a complete turn around this year. In fact, it will be great to see Chennai and Deccan playing the final.”

The actor, whose last venture “Bad Luck Govind” failed at the box-office, is also focusing on a Pritish Nandi Communication film comedy called “Salunn”.