1 Mar 2013, 1338 hrs IST

Bollywood News: DUBAI: On Saturday, the crackling marriage happened in the form of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), season 3 at the Dubai International Stadium. But like all marriages, the eight-hour sporting carnival had its for better and for worse elements.

Indians take their cricket and cinema very seriously. So, imagine the frenzy created if there was a union between the two. Bollywood superstars, including the ‘Dabangg’ hero Salman Khan flew all the way to Dubai to witness a nail-biting CCL match.

The good bits arrived in the form of Kerala Strikers’ captain Mohanlal. After winning the toss against Bengal Tigers and electing to bat, his boys put up a formidable 245 runs on board.

But the fans who were hoping to see Lalettan (as he is fondly called by his legion of fans) execute a captain’s knock were disappointed since he didn’t need to come out to the crease to bat. His star player Rajeev Pillai took care of the first half by gathering 95 runs off 62 balls and his top-order batsmen offered him sturdy support.

But it was clear from the euphoric screams that emerged during the second half of the innings that the movie-mad spectators had eyes solely for the burly superstar. Each time Lal saved a ball struck by Bengal Tigers batsmen from reaching the boundary, his fans went crazy.

“I came to see Lalettan play. He said in an interview that he enjoyed playing cricket in college. We can see that passion even today,” said Jithu Matthias, who had come with his family to watch the game. It wasn’t just Lal who had a rigorous work-out. Thousands of unsuspecting spectators had to hike a good distance from the parking lot to reach the stadium and make peace with nasty traffic snarls leading to the parking area.

“We weren’t prepared for this. I wish there were some sign boards telling us where to go,” said Mini Rajendran, pointing to her inappropriate footwear. But blisters were forgotten at the prospect of star-sightings.

“Mohanlal is my hero since childhood and I have never seen Salman Khan in the flesh. So, this is a good opportunity to see both,” said Rajendran. But the wait was tedious.

Salman’s fleeting appearance

The second qualifying match was played out between Mumbai Heroes and Chennai Rhinos. And its star attraction — Salman Khan — pitched in his two-bit appearance during the second half of the innings at 10.30pm.

Surrounded by a team of fierce-looking bodyguards, Khan was steadfastly expressionless as he watched his boys play. The star, known for his mercurial temperament, didn’t look particularly joyous. Unlike his sunny mood displayed last year during the CCL second season in Sharjah where he interacted freely with spectators, the ‘Dabangg’ star was studiously glacial this year. This weekend, he limited his interaction to posing for pictures with his fans (mostly kids since the adults were shooed away by his bodyguards who had formed a human chain around him). Perhaps all the travelling and the partying had taken its toll.

The flawed sound system — spectators could only see images of stars and players on giant screens and not hear the accompanying audio — also didn’t help. This could be the reason why the majority of spectators chose to leave the stadium before Mumbai Heroes achieved their glorious win past midnight. Captain Suniel Shetty’s Mumbai Heroes beat Vishal’s Chennai Rhinos by 19 runs.

Their understanding? If they reached home on time, they would be able to catch the live coverage on television — with the live commentary thrown in. Those who lasted till the end were awarded the vision of seeing Khan finally crack a smile. His ambivalent mood seemed to have lifted as he presented the Man of the Match trophy to Shabbir Ahluwalia from Mumbai Heroes. His grin spoke a thousand words — or so we told ourselves.

Some visual relief also came in the form of cheerleaders Kangna Ranaut, Chitrangada Singh, Nargis Fakhri and Mamta Mohandas.

The exciting match saw Chennai Rhinos battle it out with Sohail Khan’s Mumbai Heroes at the on-going Celebrity Cricket League. Seen at the cricket pitch, enjoying the on-field proceedings was Salman Khan (looking handsome in an all-black ensemble), rooting and cheering on his brother Sohail Khan’s team, Mumbai Heroes. He was even seeing interacting with the other celebrities present on pitch. Reportedly, after a slew of defeats for Sohail’s team, Salman Khan decided that he would be present at every match to ensure that his magic rubs off for his younger brother’s Mumbai Heroes.

Nargis Fakhri and Kangna Ranaut had taken it upon themselves to play the role of cheerleaders at the CCL match. Also seen rooting for Mumbai Heroes, the two lovely ladies hooted, clapped, cheered and whistled to goad the Mumbai boys to victory.

Mumbai Heroes owner Sohail Khan was seen in a navy blue shirt which proudly wore the tag of CCL on it. His friends Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor were spotted enjoying the proceedings from the stands, along with Bollywood beauty Chitrangada Singh.

Mumbai Heroes players Bobby Deol, Aftab Shivdasani, Shabbir Ahluwalia and Suniel Shetty were live wires on pitch, squashing their competition in the form if the Chennai Rhinos. A jubilant celebration followed where the team members lifted Sohail Khan off the ground.

Sonu Sood was seen spotted on the benches, watching his teammates play the match Reportedly, the handsome actor suffered a nasty injury while playing and was rushed back to Mumbai, post the match.

Also spotted at the CCL match was Sridevi (in a purple Chennai Rhinos jersey), looking glumly on.