IPL 10: Opening Ceremony - As it happened

The much awaited 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League finally got underway with a magnificent and lavish display of the opening ceremony. The venue at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was dressed up in orange and the sea of orange only justified the home support that Sunrisers Hyderabad were about to get in the season opener of IPL 10 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The ceremony began with the iconic voice of Ravi Shastri addressing the audience. The opening address was followed by a short video that showcased the best moments from the finals of the all previous editions – from the Rajasthan Royals lifting the silverware in 2008 edition to David Warner getting the trophy in the last year’s IPL. This was then followed by the felicitation of the four iconic and legendary players of the Indian cricket – VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

All the legends were welcomed with rousing chants at the venue with the little master getting the loudest of cheers. Sachin reflected back at how he never imagined that the tournament will grow so much in stature. Virender Sehwag, who is the Director of Operations for the Kings XI Punjab, expressed that the game is all about entertaining the fans. He expects his franchise to do the same in the IPL 10. He wants the team to be aggressive in their brand of play.

VVS Laxman was absolutely thrilled at the atmosphere at the venue at Hyderabad. Sourav Ganguly, too, commended the huge success of the tournament as well. The players then took a round of the ground waving to the excited fans at the ground. The BCCI top officials, including the head of the CoA Vinod Rai and Chairman of the IPL Governing Council Rajeev Shukla, felicitated the fab four of Indian cricket. Rahul Dravid was certainly missed at the occasion.

Super opening all the best to all the teams and may the best one wins cheers ???? #IPLOpeningCeremony

— vikas mohta (@vikaasm) April 5, 2017

best part of #IPLOpeningCeremony is four legends seen in one frame looked like whole childhood was playing Infront bt Dravid missing??

— GENEZENS (@aolanjali) April 5, 2017

Ravi Shastri would have been like 'Ye kiska naam de diya bolne ke liye' while calling out Sourav Ganguly. #ipl#IPLOpeningCeremony

— SymmetricParanoid (@Symmetrication) April 5, 2017

@sachin_rt @virendersehwag @VVSLaxman281 Felicitated at the #IPLOpeningCeremony #IpL ❤❤ pic.twitter.com/BAPuXB7Vt7

— Kiran Royalッ (@CharanAntePichi) April 5, 2017

Soon after the event, there was the official signing of the MCC Spirit of the Game by the 8 captains of the participating franchises of IPL 10. Unlike the previous editions, the signing did not take place at the ground but was rather a pre-shot affair that was aired on television and the big screen at the venue.

Then came the moment when the two captains of the finalist teams of the IPL 2016 exchanged the memento to mark the fairplay award. Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner handed over the signed ball in a frame to Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli. Both captains walked on to the park with their team theme songs being played in the ground reverberating to the full capacity. They were driven to the center stage where they exchanged the memento.

The only celebrity performance of the night followed, with Bollywood actress Amy Jackson dancing on the few hit numbers of the recent times. She danced to the beats of songs – ‘Saara Zamaana’, ‘Tamma Tamma’, “Chull’, ‘Kala Chashma’. Her performance was not really appreciated though and most of the people started trolling her after her performance.

#WhatsWrong Poor performance by #AmyJackson #IPLOpeningCeremony @IPL @IPL_2017 #RCBvSRH

— Swapneel Gawhale (@Swapx360) April 5, 2017

I sincerely hope #IPL2017 does not turn out to be as bad as #AmyJackson dance in #IPLOpeningCeremony . Let #SRHvRCB make us forget that.

— RDV (@rdvic) April 5, 2017

Amy is moving like I wud in a Zumba class When the instructor isnt looking. Nevertheless, cricket is all that matters. #IPLOpeningCeremony

— Vasha (@vasudha_shankar) April 5, 2017

After watching AmyJackson's dance #IPLOpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/oSGGColQCS

— Shefali (@Shefali18_94) April 5, 2017

With that ended the opening ceremony of IPL 10, or perhaps the first opening ceremony of this year. Here are the reactions of the people on the ceremony:

#IPLOpeningCeremony Is The Worst Thing Done Every Year..2 Minutes Silence For Every IPL Sponsor Instead Of It You Can Play Super Over Match

— Forget Discipline (@neverdiscipline) April 5, 2017

Alrite! This #IPLOpeningCeremony hits a new low every year…!!
The fireworks in the background are more worth than foreground performance.

— Murali Karthik (@rakthik) April 5, 2017

Shikhar Dhawan on the crease ~ Things that lasts longer than this #IPLOpeningCeremony

— Sand-d Singh (@Sand_In_Deed) April 5, 2017

IPL is always Entertaining & Amazes you with Quality of cricket. But #IPLOpeningCeremony is always a huge disappointment every year.

— Ranga Reddy (@RangaSpeaks) April 5, 2017

The biggest spectacle of Indian cricket is back ? Next 7 weeks it's only entertainment @IPL #ipl #IPLOpeningCeremony #VIVOIPLEdition

— Harshal Patel⏺ (@HarshalPatel_) April 5, 2017

Every year I think the #IPLOpeningCeremony couldn't get any worse but then they come back with some next level bullcrap !

— #BROKEN (@i_Nefarious) April 5, 2017