Cricket passion rides high as stars take to the pitch

(Clockwise from top) Mumbai Heroes captain Salman Khan with his South Superstars counterpart, actor Venkatesh, during the curtain raiser match at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA grounds in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Shriya Saran (centre) cheering for South Superstars. Genelia roots for Mumbai Heroes.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The mood was electrifying at the curtain raiser match of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) between Mumbai Heroes and South Superstars at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Saturday. At the end of a gripping star-studded cricket session, it was the South Superstars who ultimately won the Twenty20 match.

The best bowler trophy went to Mumbai Heroes' Mahesh Manjrekar, who took six wickets. The best batsman award went to Adarsh of South Superstars for his 48-run knock. However, the Star of the Match went to the captain of South Superstars, Venkatesh.

Minister for Tribal Welfare P. Balaraju, Visakhapatnam Mayor P. Janardhana Rao, Rajya Sabha MP T. Subbarami Reddy, MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao and other guests and officials were present.

A magical bowling spell

South Superstars won the toss and elected to bat first. Venkatesh scored a quick 27, but it was Adarsh whose blistering knock of 48 took the South Superstars to a comfortable 192 at the end of 20 overs. Manjrekar kept spirits high with his magical bowling spell. However, in the second half, Venkatesh was injured while trying to save a run and had to leave the field.

In response, Mumbai Heroes could make only 156 runs. Aftab Shivdasani gave a good fight till the end and scored a couple of big hits, but could not steer his team to victory.

Thousands of spectators cheered their favourites all along. Apart from sporadic incidents of indiscipline, the event went off peacefully.

Venkatesh said that the CCL was a long awaited concept and would surely be a great entertaining event. “Vizag has a beautiful stadium and it is a pleasure to play here for the curtain raiser of this CCL tournament and the crowd is very supportive,” he added.

Actor Salman Khan, who led Mumbai Heroes, said the South Superstars played very well and it was a great beginning to the CCL, which would be a mega entertainment for the nation.

This CCL is being played on the lines of IPL, with film actors from different regions forming teams. All the seven matches and the final will be played in the metros — the opening match will be in Bangalore.