The Tollywood vs Bollywood film stars cricket match started off amidst cheering crowd and strict security at ACA-VDCA stadium on Saturday evening.
The stands were tightly packed with fans cheering the glamorous stars profoundly and trying to get a glimpse of them in whatever way possible. The match, organised jointly by TSR Visakhapatnam Youth Welfare Forum and Crescent Cricket Cup (CCC) committee, began when Bollywood team, led by Suniel Shetty, won the toss and opted to bat.
Suniel Shetty was quite proactive taking care of every need of his team members. Commenting on how he feels about being a captain, he said: “As both teams are dearer to me I don’t consider myself a captain. For me, participation is more important than winning or losing the game. But yes, playing in Vizag always excites me and I look forward to visiting the city almost every year. With tourism booming by leaps and bounds over here, the charisma of the place and the cuisine impress me.”
Bollywood actors Sonu Sood and Randeep Hooda were the openers who played for 10 minutes and left the city soon after. There was thunderous applause from the viewers when Sonu Sood got out while Tollywood actor Raghu was bowling.
Speaking to mediapersons, T. Subbarami Reddy said: “We want to encourage the youth to involve in the game. Tollywood Vs Bollywood is being organised to create awareness on cricket among the people.
The best way to communicate the message is to involve the stars in the team. I look forward to contributing whatever possible from my end to promote the game.”
He was flanked by actors Manchu Mohan Babu and Jayaprada.
Among other guests, Minister for Investment and Infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Chairman of CCC K.Md.S. Shafi were present. While Bollywood team was supported by Aftab Shivdasani, Shaik, Sandeep Punia, Faisal Khan along with a host of others, the Tollywood team, headed by actor Srikanth, saw Tarun, Allari Naresh, Nikhil, Shivaji Raja, Prince, Tanish and Rajeev Kanakala and several others as team members.
