The stage is finally set for the much hyped Indian Premier League(IPL) to begin on April 18. After several months of hype and negotiations regarding players, their auctioning, billion dollar TV-right deal, the threat by the medial of a blackout of whole tournament its finally time for the curtains to rise.

 

Stadium roof has been connected to the playing square with a giant bubble with acrobats also a part of the opening ceremony of the gala event to add to its entertainment quotient. But still for a first of its kind, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, both former Indian Captains and now the rival Skippers for tomorrow’s game will walk out for the toss in a stadium that will be plunged into darkness.

Shortly after a "short, sharp and sweet" opening ceremony to launch the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 tournament, the organizers are planning to switch off the floodlights before the first match between Dravid’s Bangalore Royal Challengers, the hosts, and Ganguly’s Kolkata Knight Riders, the visitors, which begins at 20:00 local time . "Then, the spotlights will come on, and focus on the two skippers as they walk out for the toss," Charu Sharma, the Royal Challengers’ chief executive told in a press meet.

"We are pushing to have the toss under spotlights and are waiting for permission from local authorities, considering the number of people who will be there at the stadium when the lights will be switched off. This is something that has not really been tried before," he said.

After the toss, a couple of players from the fielding side will be "miked up" to chat directly with the TV commentators during the match. "Another attraction for the TV audience, but this has been done before, I guess," Sharma said.

  However, the most important part of the whole 45 minute opening ceremony starting at 18:30 IST is being speculated as the reading out of the pledge by all the captains gathered at the mid-pitch stating IPL’s faith in the spirit of cricket."There will also be speeches by Ray Mali, the ICC president, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman."

The ceremony also incorporates an amalgamation of brilliant fireworks, stilt walkers, aerial gymnasts, performers in the bubble suspended over the ground with some tinsel town stalwarts also coming down to the match venue which is going to add the cine glitz to the match. As for now its known that SRK, Preity Zinta are going to make their presence there with Shankar-Ehsan-Loy set to mesmerize the crowd with their performances.

Bangalore is also banking on 12 cheerleaders from the Washington Redksins, the ‘First Ladies of American Football’, to draw more fans to the stadium. "The entire exercise is to have the right balance of glamour and cricket," said Sharma. "Usually, cricket is not associated with such ceremonies, and this will be a novelty. At the same time, we would not want the genuine cricket fan to get frustrated waiting for the game to start. Our aim is to present a spectacle that’s short, sharp and sweet, which reflects the spirit of the IPL."

So fans get set to welcome a new era of cricket, come the anticiapted hour[8 pm] and the game of cricket will  change forever.