Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal bond at IPL

While Shah Rukh Khan being present for the opening IPL match at Bangalore was a foregone conclusion, what surprised many at the stadium and those who were watching it on telly was the presence of Arjun Rampal.

The two actors have bonded well ever since they were seen in DON and OM SHANTI OM. While Arjun was also there for a guest appearance in KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA, King Khan too obliged by appearing for a blink-and-you-would-miss performance in Arjun's home production I SEE YOU.

Now Arjun has extended his friendship with Shah Rukh Khan by supporting his KNIGHT RIDERS team which went on to win the inaugural match. While the two were quite demonstrative about their support for the team and were seen dancing and cheering aloud from their VIP stands, it was a star studded affair with Juhi Chawla, Shilpa Shetty and Gauri Khan too having fun during the proceedings.

A glam studded event, the first match in IPL has turned out to be a smash hit affair and one can expect many more star appearances like these in the matches to follow over the course of next 6 weeks!

Joginder Tuteja

Team SRK's Amazing Victory!

Kolkata Knight Riders recorded a massive victory of 140 runs over Bangalore Royal Challengers in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League here at the Chinnaswami Stadium on Friday.

Set an improbable target of 223 runs in 20 overs, Bangalore batsmen were seen in trouble right from the beginning and the whole team was bundled out for 82 in 15.1 overs.

This was one man show as Kolkata’s opener, New Zealand's Brendon McCullum hammered an unbeaten 158 off just 73 balls with 14 big sixes and nine fours.

None of their batsmen could enter into double figure except Praveen Kumar, who made 18 runs and remained not out.

However, it was interesting to note that Bangalore’s highest scorer was not any batsman but ‘Mr. Extras’, who contributed 19 runs with eight leg-byes and eleven wides.

From Kolkata Knight Riders, pacer Ajit Agarkar was the most successful bowler with three wickets for 25 runs while Ashok Dinda and captain Sourav Ganguly claimed two wickets each for nine and 21 runs, respectively.

Earlier, Rahul Dravid, captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers won the toss and opted to field but his decision went wrong when the Kolkata batsmen severely punished his bowlers to amass a huge score of 222 runs for three wickets in the allotted 20 overs.


This is the highest individual score by any batsman in Twenty20 cricket.

No other batsman made any significant score as Ricky Ponting (20), Michael Hussey (12) and captain Sourav Ganguly(10) went back to pavilion one after another.

Mohammad Hafeez from Pakistan was unbeaten on five.

Zaheer Khan, A. Noffke and Jacques Kallis claimed one wicket each.

Geo Super gave the live coverage of the match as it obtained the exclusive telecast rights for showing all matches of the tournament, which will continue till June 8.

The commencement of IPL has taken the entire world of cricket by storm. IPL is literally a cricket league but this is in fact the beginning of a revolution which will change the history of cricket.

The opening ceremony was a blend of fireworks, stilt walkers, aerial gymnasts, performers in a bubble and some Bollywood glitter with the presence of Shah Rukh Khan, also the co-owner of the Kolkata team.

GeoSuper

Before battle, Mallya takes on SRK

April 18: It is not just a war on the cricket field. Even before the game begins Royal Challengers boss Vijay Mallya has taken on his opponent for Friday's (April 18) match, the King of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan.

Its a battle between two legends in their own right. One is a celebrated liquor baron and the other the King of Bollywood. Vijay Mallya and Shahrukh Khan will be pitted against each other when their teams clash in the inaugural match of cricket's summer slam. The man at the helm of the Royal Challengers has set the war of words alight by taking a jibe at Shahrukh's Kolkata Knight Riders.

Watch: Vijay Mallya takes on SRK

Vijay Mallya said, "Shahrukh Khan is a superstar and I am not. But, his stardom will not count on the cricket field. It will all depend on which team plays a better game and I stand by the fact that we are a good team."

Shahrukh may have not responded to his rival's war cry, however, the commander of his force Sourav Ganguly declared that he is ready for any challenge thrown at him by Dr Vijay Mallya's team. Sourav said, "I have given Rahul a pair of boxing gloves. I don't know about Shahrukh and Vijay."

On a day that holds up most importance to the owners as much as it does to the men who will sweat out at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium. The Indian Premier League will witness a war between figures who will try their level best to cut into each other's popularity. The latest jibe of Dr Mallya may just set the proceedings on a roll for a war between team owners, something that has never been witnessed before in the history of the game.

Times Now

SRK's Motto : B+ Always...

The countdown will be over soon and the entire city of Kolkata is decked up for the first match of superstar Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Sunday. “Being an actor, I have always thought every thing in larger-than-life perspective. Knight Rider’s matches will also be no exception,” Shah Rukh told IANS.

“At the Eden Gardens, where the matches will be played, we will exhibit two helmets, an 18-carat gold-plated and a diamond studded one, to show the other teams that we are the declared winners. The matches are just child’s play for us,” Shah Rukh said.

“I believe it’s my duty to entertain people whether it’s in films or in the IPL matches. Though I am not going to dance at the gallery, I will be present at the Eden (Garden). Rani (Mukherjee), Bipasha (Basu) and Kareena (Kapoor) have verbally confirmed their presence. With Kareena, now-a-days, we get a Saif Ali Khan free. So Saif can also be expected. I will personally try to convince John (Abraham) and Karan (Johar) to fly down as well.”

Let the King Khan do his bit but Kolkata has already made its plans for the matches.

“We have arranged for a procession from Hatibagan in central Kolkata to the Eden Gardens. Twenty belly dancers will dance their way to the ground on a 16-wheeled container trailer,” said Arnab Roy, joint secretary of Shah Rukh Khan Fans Club.

Roy said this is the first time in the history of the Eden Gardens that the supporters will enter the grounds with drums and play them at the gallery.

“We will also decorate the gallery with Knight Riders flags, banners and festoons. Shah Rukh has promised to help us deck up the gallery,” he added.

Fans of Sourav Ganguly, captain of the Knight Riders, and Shah Rukh will arrange mass screening of all matches at selected places across the city.

Already golden-black hoardings and posters of the ‘Knights’, with their faces painted in gold and with determined looks, are evoking an air of excitement in all Kolkatans.

Ticket sales for the IPL matches began here Monday. Since then, there has been a beeline outside the Cricket Association Of Bengal (CAB) ticket counters.

“All the tickets for the first two Knight Riders matches, on April 20 against Deccan Chargers and April 29 against the Mumbai Indians, are sold out. I am sure tickets for the other five matches will also turn hot cake once Kolkatans get the taste of the first match at Eden (Gardens),” CAB joint secretary Amitabha Bandopadhyay said.

Of the 14 matches of the Kolkata Knight Riders, seven will be played at the Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata.

The first match of the IPL, will kick start Friday, with Knight Riders battling it out with Bangalore Royal Challengers in Bangalore with the war cry “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo” (Do, Fight, Win).

Triple Shah Rukh bonanza for fans!

Ever since last 'Diwali' and OM SHANTI OM, Shah Rukh Khan fans have been starving to see their favourite hero on screen. They did catch a glimpse of the 'Badshah' gyrating to the 'Break Free' item number for Rakesh Roshan's KRAZZY 4. But that was not enough to satisfy them.

However, their patience is about to be rewarded as Shah Rukh Khan is likely to be seen in three upcoming projects during the current year. The fun begins next month when the much awaited Amitabh Bachchan starrer, BHOOTNATH releases, where SRK has a guest appearance.

The year end will see King Khan teaming up with his DDLJ and MOHABBATEIN director, Aditya Chopra, for the destined to be blockbuster, RAB NE BANA DI JODI. The same month of December will also see Shah Rukh playing himself, that is a superstar in Priyadarshan's BILLO BARBAR.

While on the SRK-Priyan project, a section of the trade feels that the movie is likely to be pre-poned or postponed, in order to avoid a clash with the Yash Raj project, RAB NE BANA DI JODI.

King Khan launches Nokia 2 Hot 2 Kool

Shah Rukh Khan is known to put his heart and soul completely into whatever he undertakes. The big event which is keeping him really busy these days is the inaugural edition of the IPL- Indian Premiere League which kicks off in Bangalore tomorrow (April 18th)

SRK who is the proud owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders team is going all out to promote his team. In fact, his promotional music video 'Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re' is already making the air-waves and now Shah Rukh has gone ahead and even launched a music album called Nokia 2 Hot 2 Cool.

The actor along with music moghul Bhushan Kumar of T-series officially released the music of the album in association with Nokia at a function in Mumbai yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion, King Khan said, “I thought of Nokia because Nokia could connect my 22 players who were diverse but came together in one thought- they hated the thought of losing. T Series was the obvious choice because whenever I think of music, the only company that comes to my mind is T Series and I have a long association with Bhushan Kumar since Chalte Chalte days and recently even with Om Shanti Om”

With the album having some pulsating numbers by Vishal-Shekhar, Bappi Lahiri and Pritam this one surely seems a must- buy for all die-hard SRK fans.

Nokia's association with Shah Rukh's Knight Riders

Sports Minister asked Shah Rukh Khan to sponsor a team or a player

Sports Minister MS Gill wants to link Bollywood with sports, which he feels will improve India’s performance at the international arena. He has urged stars to sponsor outstanding sportsperson so that financial resources are not a constraint in their performance.

Speaking to HT, Gill asked Shah Rukh Khan to sponsor a team or a player and inspire Indian sports as he did in his film Chak De India.

“He can begin with sponsoring four women athletes of the Indian relay team. Only Rs 5-10 lakh would be required. I think he can spare that much money for Indian sports.”

The minister said Shah Rukh bought a cricket team at the IPL — the Kolkata Knightriders for a staggering $75.09 million — and though it’s a commercial venture, the star can give something back to the country by sponsoring needy sportsperson.

Gill has specific players for Shah Rukh; for other stars, like Hrithik Roshan, he said they could pick any player to sponsor. “Except cricket or may be tennis, there is no money in any other sports. If Bollywood joins hands with us, the future of other sports would be bright,” he said.

The minister admitted that Indian sportspersons, except those in cricket, don’t get adequate facilities and have to struggle for resources. If the money comes from Bollywood stars, for whom supporting few sportspersons would not be a big deal, the financial crunch can be resolved to some extent.

“It can do to other sports what glamour has done to cricket.”

Hindustan Times

King Khan ki Ranis

Buzz is that Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji will be seen performing for the Kolkata Knight Riders at Shah Rukh Khan’s IPL match in Kolkata on April 20 if the entertainment tax is waived off.

But surprise Surprise! Bengali bombshell the sultry Bipasha Basu has been left out though King Khan was keen to rope her in as she’s very popular in amaader (our) Kolkata!

A source says, “SRK was very keen to take Bips along too but she’s busy with a commitment she made long ago and is not going.

However she’s trying her best to work it out. After all, who wouldn’t want to go and cheer on SRK and his team when almost all of B-Town is planning to turn up there?”

SRK interacts with the media and fans about Kolkata Knight Riders