Heavy rains, goof-ups and all that made the opening lacklustre

No Indian spectacle gets bigger than Bollywood and cricket stars coming together for a gala ceremony, but the opening of the domestic cricket league at Kolkata turned out a damp squib this time.

No Indian spectacle gets bigger than Bollywood and cricket stars coming together for a gala ceremony, but the opening of the domestic cricket league at Kolkata turned out a damp squib this time.



The show began an hour-and-a-half late on Tuesday night as it was marred by the rain gods, but eager fans weathered the storm and stuck to the streets and waited to catch a glimpse of the stars. The host of the event, actor Saif Ali Khan, seemed somewhat off the mark when he called out for nine team captains instead of the participating eight, and adding to the confusion was Rohit Sharma’s appearance when Saif called out Shikhar Dhawan’s name.



Social media was quick to slam the goof-up. "Saif Ali khan made this humshakals stage play !!! Ruined the name game (sic)," wrote a user, Malli Boy @rakthik, while another tweet by @debapriyo_tweet read, "First rain ruined it and then Saif. Just Worst ever hosting by Saif (sic)".



Next up was actor Shahid Kapoor, who hit the ramp while riding a bike and slipped on stage before recovering quickly and giving a power-packed performance on his popular film songs, Gandi Baat and Dhating Naach. "Banged the bike broke the stage. Felt the love. Amaze (sic)," he tweeted.

Saif-Ali-Khan-hosted-the-opening-ceremony-at-IPL-2015-PTI-Photo

Shahid performs at the opening ceremony of IPL 2015. (PTI Photo)



Actor Anushka Sharma’s performance brought smiles to many, including her cricketer boyfriend Virat Kohli, as she grooved to her hit numbers such as Jiya Re and Chaar Kadam.



Ending on a high was actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar’s band that belted out popular tracks from his film Rock On!! (2008).

(PTI Photo)



Fittingly, Hrithik Roshan closed the show, dancing to some of his older hits.

(PTI Photo)