The second edition of the glittering and glamorous Indian Premier League got off to a very grand start, as all the eight teams paraded in an open-bus through the centre of Cape Town. Many of the participating cricketers and some of the leading names in Bollywood led the charge and a beaming Lalit Modi couldnât help but feel relieved at the way things had turned out after a fear of the IPL being not played at all in the first place. 
Despite being in South Africa, there were enough fans on both sides of the roads to cheer the eight franchises, and the atmosphere was carnival in nature. Modi commended the South African cricket and their government for the kind of support they provided the IPL. He said, âIt was a huge challenge but we turned it into an opportunity. The South African government and the cricket board went out of their way to help us and made it a national event.â
He also said that the hosts have gone out of their way to make the IPL feel at home and approvals for the whole tournament were got in a matter of minutes.
*Kolkata Knight Ridersâ: Shah Rukh Khan may not have recovered from the shoulder injury but he was at his âjiggingâ best , as was Chris Gayle. Sourav Ganguly did speak to the media but was conspicuous by his absence in the bus.Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar wasnât a part of the celebrations yet, and Harbhajan Singh, who had landed himself in a controversy regarding his absence from an awards function too was missing. But Dwayne Bravo, Zaheer Khan and Jonty Rhodes were all there; sharing sound bytes with the mediaBangalore Royal Challengers: The media did get it wrong between Rahul Dravid and Kevin Pietersen regarding who the captain was but such was the day that all was forgiven.Deccan Chargers: Oh they would be hoping for something better than last year! Adam Gilchrist seemed to have soaked in the atmosphere well and did not seem too far from another explosive start!Chennai Super Kings: Dhoni was missing, as were some of the other team members, but Shiva Mani kept the crowds and the bus enthralled with his drumming.Rajasthan Royals: One of the few teams that had most players standing in the open-bus. Shane Warne looked his jazzy best, and the team looked smart in their dark blue jersey. Delhi DareDevils: No Gambhir, no Sehwag meant that the questions were asked about where the Indian celebrities were? Glen McGrath looked his happy self like he had just bowled his 23rd maiden over in a row and the rest of the team also waved around.*Kings XI Punjabâ: Yuvraj Singh led the guys, but it was Sreesanth who stole the show with his brake-dance. It looked like the team was there to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy themselves with priety Zinta and Brett Lee having a quiet word or two.
If this was anything to go by, then the real action should be even better! Another day and some hours to go!