Star-studded closing ceremony draws curtain on IPL II

A glittering closing ceremony, with dash of glitz and glamour, drew curtains on the second edition of the Indian Premier League razzmatazz last night.

Soon after the Adam Gilchrist-led Deccan Chargers pipped Anil Kumble's Royal Challengers Bangalore in the see-saw final, cricket paved way to entertainment at the Wanderers Stadium.

South Africa President Jacob Zuma thanked the organisers for choosing the country as venue of the Twenty20 league which was shifted out of India after it coincided with the Lok Sabha election.

"I thank the organisers for showing trust in South Africa's ability to host the event in such a short notice. We had to prepare eight stadiums in three weeks' time, besides arranging extra hotel rooms and air tickets," Zuma said.

"I also thank the Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty for coming here," he added.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi took the occasion to thank the government and the cricket board here and said IPL II would not have been a success but for their cooperation.

In his message to the Indian fans, Modi said, "I promise you all that we would return to India bigger and better."

Modi's speech was followed by a light and sound show after which R&B sensation Akon took the centre stage to entertain the crowd, starting with his Smack That number.

After Akon left the stage, local percussionists took over even as the stadium witnessed laser shows and umpteen hot air balloons crowding the evening sky.

The 15 Miss Bollywood-South Africa contestants were paraded then with the eventual winner Dune Kossatz receiving her crown from Akon.

Next, it was Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif's turn to sway to the tunes of Jai Ho.

As soon as she left, Wanderers was in the possession of a troupe, which juggled torches and did similar daredevilry with fire to the loud beat of the drums.