The opening ceremony of the UP T20 league saw mesmerising performances by Dhurandhar singer Jasmine Sandals, and singers Shankar Mahadevan with sons Siddharth and Shivam Mahadevan. The ceremony was recently held at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium.
Jasmine opened the show with her hit numbers and, with her power-packed singing and dance moves, engaged the audience. Shankar, with his sons, started with Shiv Vandana and switched to motivational and patriotic songs.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in the presence of ministers, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, UPT20 chairman Sanjay Kapoor, and other officials, unveiled the trophy.
Besides the singers, the surprise attraction of the day was the presence of firebrand batsman and Team India opener Abhishek Sharma, along with UPT20 brand ambassador and ex-cricketer Suresh Raina.
{{/usCountry}}Besides the singers, the surprise attraction of the day was the presence of firebrand batsman and Team India opener Abhishek Sharma, along with UPT20 brand ambassador and ex-cricketer Suresh Raina.
{{/usCountry}}A mesmerising drone show and dazzling fireworks were also held on the occasion. The drone lit up the sky with formations of all the participating teams and their logos, the Indian flag, and images of CM Yogi and Rajeev Shukla.
Jasmine spreads magic
Dressed in her favourite pink-family tone, Jasmine Sandlas from the word go started with singing and dancing to her popular song Soniya. As she started the chartbuster number Mainu Yar Na Mile Te Mar Jawan, her fans cheerfully joined her, which was followed by the Punjabi number Naine Ne Sharab Do Botolan. And then came a moment for which the audience was fully ready – the Dhurandhar's title track. It was followed by superhit numbers Jaiye Sajna, Tenu Shararat Sikhawan, Main Aur Tu, and Vaari Jawan.
She went off the stage and, singing and dancing along, acknowledged the fans on both the wings. Towards the end, she went towards an arena and threw all her jewellery and accessories towards her fans and thanked them for their support. A dazzling firework display was also held during the day.
The Mahadevan show!
Shankar Mahadevan with sons Siddharth and Shivam opened with Shiv Tandav, and the dance troupe with their swift moves and sync set the mood from the word go! Soon they presented the Lakshya movie title track, followed by the Zinda song.
They changed their fervour to a patriotic theme and sang Aye Watan Mere Watan.
As they presented the Lehra Do song, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Team India's star batsman Abhishek Sharma with Suresh Raina walked in amidst huge cheers from the audience. Thereafter they presented Vande Matram, Om Deva Deva, Chak De India, Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawano Ka, followed by Sabse Aage Hongey Hindustani. The chief minister also joined them on the stage with dignitaries.
Sporting encounter
Captains and owners of all the six teams – Gorakhpur Lions Squad, Kanpur Superstars, Kashi Rudras, Noida Super Kings, Lucknow Falcons, and Meerut Mavericks – were present on the occasion.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath encouraged the players by performing the ritual of the toss ceremony. He said that the tournament is doing a great job in finding new talent from different parts of the state.
UPT20 chairman Sanjay Kapoor said, "This is UP's cricketing Utsav and for the first time the tournament is being played in both Lucknow and Kanpur."
The opening match was played between Rinku Singh-led Meerut Mavericks and Karan Sharma-led Kashi Rudras. Meerut's team won the match.