Cricket fans in this lovely South African city went delirious with joy as the carnival arrived here on Thursday. Most of the world’s best cricketers – gathered here for the second edition of the DLF-Indian Premier League – went on a colourful parade, the first of its kind in cricket history.
At about 2.40 pm, the parade of 11 floats set off from just outside the city centre. The best players, coaches and trainers, franchise owners and officials and DLF-IPL officials were taken around on a 2.5km route with people lining up on either side of the streets. Employees from banks and other commercial offices poured out to the road or to the balconies of their offices.
IPL officials Chairman Lalit Modi, vice-chairman Niranjan Shah and IPL Governing Council member Ravi Shastri were on the first float. The crowds warmed up to the fact that their favourite stars were not too far behind.
The defending champions Rajasthan Royals, with their players sporting their trademark handlebar moustaches, were up next. The team’s co-owner Shilpa Shetty shouted out `Halla Bol', the team’s clarion call, as the fans cried out for her. Skipper Shane Warne looked on and waved out while the younger lot joined in the fun.
Chennai Super Kings was next up with its key supporter, drummer Sivamani, making merry even as the rest of the squad waved out in joy. The Chennai team looked small in numbers, with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni not seen on the float.
Of the others, Kings XI Punjab was the most populated as co-owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta joined in with the players as the team song played out loud. Skipper Yuvraj Singh was subdued while the injured pace duo of S Sreesanth and Brett Lee looked cheerful enough.
Delhi Daredevils' new recruits Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah coupled with old hands like Glenn McGrath stole the show but skipper Virender Sehwag was not spotted as the younger lot in the team took centrestage for a bit.
The major interest then centred around Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders. King Khan did not disappoint as he was the star attraction, teaching Chris Gayle a few dance moves. Sourav Ganguly was not that conspicuous at first but later looked on from the sidelines. The star though was undoubtedly Shah Rukh Khan.
The Mumbai Indians seemed to be without their skipper Sachin Tendulkar but others like Zaheer Khan drew loud cheers from the female fans. The strong Indian origin community working around the area had clear favourites and some Indian cricketers along with the filmstars were top of that list.
Finally, after a 15-minute halt the cavalcade entered the final stretch of the parade. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s main attraction was new skipper Kevin Pietersen, he waved with interest. Legendary Anil Kumble waved out at times, but was busy clicking photographs for posterity. Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli soaked in the atmosphere.
Deccan Chargers were more low key than Chennai Super Kings as they seemed to lack the star power at least in the parade. Pragyan Ojha tried his bit at pushing the quotient up but did not catch the attention. Finally as the team floats lined up one by one to get into the buses, Shah Rukh Khan it was who charmed the crowds.
The team floats went under a bridge and it was here that the King Khan showed his charm and danced to the team song. The crowds went rapturous and it was clear who the Cape Town fans were rooting for. That was the total of the nearly 90-minute parade which certainly showed that the DLF-IPL2 will have a great following just like the helicopter patrol which tracked the teams from above.
