As the clock hit 9:00 PM PST, not only Pakistani streets but also, the streets of Dubai seemed deserted because of the opening ceremony of Pakistan’s highly anticipated cricketing event, Pakistan Super League (PSL).
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Spectators stand for the national anthem to officially start the ceremony amid an outstanding graphics’ show delineating Pakistani flag. After the countdown, veteran cricketer, Ramiz Raja comes to the podium to give a formal intro of PSL, inviting the chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ehsan Mani.
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An instrumental band comes to the center of the stadium to play the instrumental version of acclaimed, ‘The Final Countdown’, giving it a Desi aura with Dhol. Even before the audience could end clapping, the legendary ‘Bony M’ takes the stadium by storm with performances on their super-upbeat songs ‘Daddy Cool, ‘Ma Baker’ and ‘I love you’, keeping eyes of all the spectators at home, glued to the screens.
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Donned in a peach jumpsuit and subtle makeup, the stunning Aima Baig walks to the stage, singing her outstanding rendition of Nazia Hassan’s ‘Disco Deewane’. The immensely talented, Shuja Haider joins her, dressed in a black jacket looking absolutely chic. Notwithstanding the absence of background, the constantly changing hologram throughout the show provides grandiosity to the event.
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As soon as Aima and Shuja end their performance and the audience decides to finally settle on the seats, the sound of an electric guitar arises giving goosebumps to all the viewers. A few seconds pass and three legends emerge from the backstage, giving a new life to the entire jam-packed stadium. With Brian O’Connell and Salman Ahmed on the guitars, the exceptional, Ali Azmat holds a microphone, enthralling the Dubai International Stadium with unexplainable energy.
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Junoon gives a full throttle with ‘Yaar Bina Dil’, followed by their debut song, ‘Heeray’. Ali Azmat dons a black hat and a leather jacket with Salman Ahmed wearing a green sherwani and his signature hat while Brain O’Connell wears a blue kurta and a burgundy waistcoat. All three superstars come together to perform on ‘Yaron Yehi Dosti Hai’ in the midst of an infinitely charged audience who does not want them to stop at all.
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Salman sprinkles the magic from his guitar across the stadium, getting all the people to jump with joy, joined by Ali Azmat intoning Junoon’s super hit song, ‘Jazba Junoon’ amid a phenomenal display of fireworks with every Pakistani present in the stadium singing along, giving it an aura of a majestic concert.
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There’s no stopping the crowd now because Junoon has exhilarated it with their contagious energetic performance. To give the audience what they deserve, the suave, Fawad Khan arrives at the center, singing the official PSL 4 anthem in a navy blue jacket with Young Desi, followed by the arrival of all the teams and their owners behind their team flags and mascots in the arena. The show ends with the keynote speech of UAE’s Minister of Tolerance Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan and a plethora of fireworks.
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With such an exuberant inaugural ceremony, we hope the entire tournament will be filled with innumerable joyous moments and fair play. May the best team win.
Which city do you think will take the diamond-adorned trophy? Have your say in the comments’ section below.