A glitzy mix of Bollywood razzmatazz&nbsp;and high-octane performances, including that of West Indian&nbsp;cricketer Dwayne Bravo's smash-hit rap 'Champion dance',&nbsp;marked a glittering opening ceremony which set the ball&nbsp;rolling for the ninth edition of the IPL in Mumbai on Friday.&nbsp;
<img title="Katrina Kaif performing to her popular numbers at the opening ceremony of IPL 9 in Mumbai on Friday night." src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/katrina-ipl.jpg" alt="Katrina Kaif performing to her popular numbers at the opening ceremony of IPL 9 in Mumbai on Friday night." /> Katrina Kaif performing to her popular numbers at the opening ceremony of IPL 9 in Mumbai on Friday night.&nbsp;Pic/PTI
The two hour and 15 minute long event was less&nbsp;spectacular as compared to the previous editions but the cine&nbsp;stars still managed to put up an entertaining show,&nbsp;enthralling the gathering at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Stadium at&nbsp;the National Sports Club of India here.
<img title="Dwayne Bravo and singer Ankit Tiwari performing the West Indian's poplar tune 'Champion' on Friday" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/bravo-ankit-ipl.jpg" alt="Dwayne Bravo and singer Ankit Tiwari performing the West Indian's poplar tune 'Champion' on Friday" /> Dwayne Bravo and singer Ankit Tiwari performing the West Indian's poplar tune 'Champions dance' on Friday.Pic/PTI
Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline&nbsp;Fernandez and Punjabi rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh kept the&nbsp;audience glued to their seats during the opening gala attended&nbsp;by the BCCI top brass, franchise team owners, players and&nbsp;support staff of all the eight participating teams.&nbsp;
<img title="Yo Yo Honey Singh performing his popular songs" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/honey2-ipl.jpg" alt="Yo Yo Honey Singh performing his popular songs" /> Yo Yo Honey Singh performing his popular songs&nbsp;during the opening night of the Vivo Indian Premier League ( IPL ) 2016, in Mumbai on Friday. Pic/PTI
The crowd at the indoor stadium enjoyed every bit of&nbsp;Bravo's much-anticipated 'champions dance'. In white blazer&nbsp;and black trousers, Bravo, a part of the West Indies World&nbsp;Twenty20 winning team, swayed to his 'Champion dance' as the&nbsp;fellow cricketers and crowd cheered him.&nbsp;
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/ranveer-ipl.jpg" alt="Ranveer Singh entertains the crowd the opening night of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, in Mumbai on Friday." /> Ranveer Singh entertains the crowd the opening night of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, in Mumbai on Friday.Pic/PTI
Bravo also danced to another number 'Chalo Chalo' and&nbsp;was joined on the stage by Bollywood playback singer Ankit Tiwari&nbsp;who sang an Indian version of 'Champion' -- 'Hindustan&nbsp;Mein Bade Bade Champion'.
<img title="Actress Jacqueline Fernandez performs during the opening night of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, in Mumbai on Friday." src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/jacqueline-ipl.jpg" alt="Actress Jacqueline Fernandez performs during the opening night of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, in Mumbai on Friday." /> Actress Jacqueline Fernandez performs during the opening night of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, in Mumbai on Friday. Pic/PTI
Like earlier opening ceremonies, the cricket segment was&nbsp;short and limited to only the oath taking ceremony by the&nbsp;skippers of the eight teams. Indian team Director Ravi Shastri&nbsp;ushered the eight captains to sign the MCC Spirit of Cricket&nbsp;pledge for fair play.
<img title="Sanjay Dutt and wife Manyata" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/sanjay-maanyata.jpg" alt="Sanjay Dutt and wife Manyata" /> Sanjay Dutt and wife Manyata. Pic/&nbsp;Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Zaheer Khan (Delhi Daredevils), Suresh Raina (Gujarat&nbsp;Lions), David Miller (Kings XI Punjab), Gautam Gambhir&nbsp;(Kolkata Knight Riders), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Rising Pune&nbsp;Supergiants), Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore), David&nbsp;Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)&nbsp;took the MCC Spirit of Cricket pledge one by one.&nbsp;
Defending champions Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit placed&nbsp;the trophy back on the podium and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla&nbsp;and BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur joined the skippers on stage.&nbsp;
<img title="Harbhajan Singh and wife Geeta Basra" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/bhajji-geeta.jpg" alt="Harbhajan Singh and wife Geeta Basra" /> Harbhajan Singh and wife Geeta Basra. Pic/&nbsp;Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Cricket will take over from tomorrow when Mumbai Indians&nbsp;open the defense of their title against new outfit Rising&nbsp;Pune Supergiants, led by India's World Cup winning skipper&nbsp;Mahendra Singh Dhoni, here.
The show began with the entry of Bollywood actress&nbsp;Jacqueline Fernandez who performed to 'Yaar Na Milay Mar Jawa'&nbsp;from the movie 'Kick' and 'Sooraj Dooba' from 'Roy'. It was&nbsp;followed by an impressive performance by Kings United Group --&nbsp;world championship hip hop bronze medallists -- which added&nbsp;spice to the evening.
<img title="Preity Zinta" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/preity.jpg" alt="Preity Zinta" /> Preity Zinta. Pic/&nbsp;Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Indian cricket team Director Ravi Shastri then took over&nbsp;as call in the captains of eight participating teams to take&nbsp;the oath of fair play as they signed the MCC Spirit of Cricket&nbsp;pledge.
IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla addressed the gathering in the&nbsp;presence of BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur. He said that&nbsp;BCCI was committed to contribute its part in addressing the&nbsp;issue of severe drought in many parts of Maharashtra in the&nbsp;wake of the criticism from several quarters, including a&nbsp;stinging observation by Bombay High Court.&nbsp;
After the cricket segment was over, it was Katrina's&nbsp;turn to keep the crowd spellbound. In black tights and golden&nbsp;top, she performed 'Dhoom Machale', 'Bang Bang' and 'Afghan&nbsp;Jalebi' before Bravo's 'Champion Dance' took centerstage.
Punjabi rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh made his presence felt&nbsp;with a performance on his superhit numbers.&nbsp;
The stage was then set for Bollywood heartthrob Ranveer&nbsp;Singh to make a grand entry by donning the cricket attire to&nbsp;the wild cheer of the crowd inside the stadium as he&nbsp;entertained them for a long period towards the close.&nbsp;He asked everyone present at the arena to dance along&nbsp;with him on 'Galla Goodiyan' from the 2015 blockbuster 'Dil&nbsp;Dhadakne Do' and 'Malhari' from 'Bajirao Mastani'.
Ranveer concluded his performance with 'Tune Mari&nbsp;Entriyaan' from his own film 'Gunde'. He called back Katrina,&nbsp;Jacqueline, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Bravo on stage and they&nbsp;swayed to 'Champioin Dance' once again.
The concluding performance was that American dancehall&nbsp;reggae group Major Lazer, making everyone get into the groove&nbsp;with Shweta Pandit singing along as the glamour-filled opening&nbsp;ceremony came to an end.&nbsp;

IPL 9: Mumbai Indians hope Jasprit Bumrah delivers in opener against Pune

Heady mix of Bollywood razzmatazz&nbsp;and high-octane performances, including that of West Indian&nbsp;cricketer Dwayne Bravo's smash-hit rap 'Champion dance',&nbsp;marks glittering opening ceremony of IPL 9

IPL 9: Glitzy Bollywood-style opening gets the ball rolling

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IPL 9: Glitzy Bollywood-style opening gets the ball rolling

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