Published: Apr 07, 2015, 06:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 07, 2015, 09:07 PM (IST)
The eighth edition of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) kick-starts with a flashy opening ceremony at Kolkata but a thunderstorm could ruin the event. The rain Gods are in no mood to leave Kolkata as latest weather report by the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) says heavy rain and thunderstorm is expected in the area of Salt Lake Stadium, which is the venue of the glamorous opening ceremony of IPL eight.
The weather also threatens the inaugural match on Wednesday between reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Eden Gardens. RMC director GC Debnath said that apart from the showers, there’s a high chance of a thunderstorm striking Kolkata which can spoil the total affair.
The opening ceremony promises to be a grand affair with celebrity performances from the likes of Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Pritam.
“There is a high possibility of rain and thunderstorm around Kolkata and surrounding 50 km area on Tuesday specially in the afternoon and evening. It is difficult to say if it will affect Salt Lake but chances are high,” Debnath was quoted in a report from Deccan Chronicle.
On Sunday, a thunderstorm uprooted trees in the city and KKR’s practice session was ruined. The team had to be satisfied at the Pankaj Gupta indoor stadium located within the Eden Gardens premises. Their counterparts MI witnessed the same fate as their practice session hopes were dashed and went inside the indoor facility after the heavy rains. Later the team assembled themselves after some time for a football session on the wet surface.
All eight franchise’s captains will be in attendance at the function to take the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of Cricket pledge. Gautam Gambhir, skipper of defending champions KKR, will put the trophy back in play, signalling the commencement of the 2015 grand season.
