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IPL Kicks Off In Star-Studded Splendour In Kolkata

PHOTOS: IPL Kicks Off In Star-Studded Splendour In Kolkata
IPL Twitter

The eighth edition of the Indian Premier League kicked off in star-studded splendour at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday night.

The opening ceremony of the cricket tournament, delayed because of heavy rain, began around 9:00 pm. Despite being drenched, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause for the captains of all eight competing teams - Gautam Gambhir, David Warner, George Bailey, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Shane Watson, Virat Kohli and JP Duminy - when they posed with the IPL trophy on stage.

The #PepsiIPL captains pose with the prize they will play for. #OpeningNitepic.twitter.com/jEhelT6yhM

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 7, 2015

The Bollywood highlights included Saif Ali Khan playing host, Shahid Kapoor riding a bike onto the stage, Anushka Sharma dancing to songs from "PK" and "Jab Tak Hai Jaan," Farhan Akhtar performing with his band, and Hrithik Roshan wrapping up the ceremony by shaking a leg to numbers from Bang and Dhoom 2.

Had a blast at the ipl opening ceremony . Kolkata thank you for the overwhelming love . https://t.co/komUl4RqjG

— Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) April 7, 2015

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.