Flying drummers, Chinese percussionists, fireworks were the some of the other attractions that were on offer for the event. After that a collection of balloons rose slowly and smoothly into the hot air above to the sound of drums, music and the cheers of people, with a performer carrying the winner's trophy.It reached a crescendo when the evening's biggest attraction of them all, Pitbull, took to the stage. The 120,000 capacity football stadium transformed into a magical kaleidoscope of Rabindra Sangeet, Bollywood dance, songs and, above all, unfettered enthusiasm as the 2013 leg formally opened with all the nine team captains taking the ICC Spirit of Cricket Pledge, 'Play hard, play fair'.The 1 hour and 45 minute extravaganza, which was high on entertainment, have surely made the 60,000-plus turnout forget the controversial build up cash-rich T20 league. The opening though, at times, appeared to have fallen short of the standards Khan had promised prior to the event. Divided into six segments, the evening began with Khan doing a poetic rendition of popular Rabindra Sangeet Aguner Paroshmani with the popular poetry 'Where the mind is without fear " being played in the background. As is the tournament's wont, the build-up to this edition, too, had been blighted by controversies, but the gala opening has has put to rest all apprehensionsPadukone made an appearance on the stage from the cutout of her mask as she danced to the tunes of the 'tumi ho tumi ho shakha'. Katrina made an entry on a chariot as the crowd roared to the tunes of her popular dance numbers in the long Bollywood segment.The evening started with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lighting the ceremonial lamp in the presence of a host of dignitaries, which included BCCI president N Srinivasan, vice-president Arun Jaitley, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, Cricket Association of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya, besides the cricketers.
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