CCL-II: A starry showdown

What began with a whimper ended with a big bang as the second round of matches of the Celebrity Cricket League-II in India, held on Saturday, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, managed to draw in the audiences in hordes.
In the first match, the Chennai Rhinos led by Vishal sealed their victory against the Kerala Strikers, captained by Mohanlal. But by the end of the night, when the Venkatesh-led Telugu Warriors took on the Karnataka Bulldozers, the atmosphere went from solemn to electrifying.
With names of stars like Mohanlal (who got a deafening welcome when he stepped out to bat), Vishal, Venkatesh, Arya, Jiva and Sudeep in the star cast, this script was a sure hit. The quality of cricket may not have been topnotch, but the entertainment value was top class. Spicing up the scene was actress Charmme���������s spirited performance.
The best was reserved for the last when the Telugu Warriors locked horns with the Sudeep-led Karnataka Bulldozers team, which set a challenging target of 148 runs for the home team. Rajeev, Dhruva and Dharma were the top scorers for team Karnataka, making 24 runs each. The bowling by the Warriors was spot on. And in the end, it turned out to be a easy victory for the Telugu stars, who romped home with two overs and two balls to spare. Charan Teja turned out to be the game changer, scoring 63 runs of just 35 balls and also taking three wickets.