IPL 5 opening ceremony ends with Perry magic

CHENNAI: The opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League season five concluded with a magical performance from American singer Katy Perry at the YMCA Ground here on Tuesday evening. Bollywood and Hollywood joined hands together to entertain a packed venue. Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were the main attractions.


Big B opened the event reciting a poem written by the renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi. He also led all the captains in signing a pledge of playing the game with integrity and dignity.


Kareena and Priyanka drew the biggest cheer for their dance performances but the renowned dancer Prabhudeva was not far behind, sending the audience into a frenzy with his moves. Colonial Cousins and 1st Project were other notable performers on the night.


Meanwhile, BCCI president N Srinivasan announced that the proceedings from the play-offs will be distributed among 181 former India and domestic cricketers in an attempt to honour their services.


He also said that the BCCI had utilised the money earned from the T20 tournament up to the hilt for improvement purposes.


"The BCCI has made good use of the success of IPL. The BCCI has distributed funds to all associations so that infrastructure, training facilities and academies are developed so that young cricketers have ample opportunities to become good players and knock on the national selection doors."


The nine-team tournament kicks off on Wednesday with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Mumbai Indians at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium.