Around 50,000 people gathered to watch Sandalwood stars in a different kind of action — playing for the Dr Rajkumar Cup Cricket — at Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday morning.
Earlier during the day, the Dancers’ team led by Namma Kichcha Sudeep was defeated by the Editors' team. The latter scored 142 runs in 15 overs without losing a wicket. Sudeep was out for 18 runs. He was bowled by Dhruv, a deaf and dumb artiste who played the hero in ‘Snehaanjali’.
The semi-final match was between the Directors' team and the Cinematographers' team in the morning. The Directors' team defeated the Cinematographers' team. Crazy Star Ravichandran and Raghavendra Rajkumar were also present at the stadium, catching all the action from the field. There was a commotion when Ravichandran arrived, making it tough for the police to control his hardcore fans who wanted either a handshake or a glimpse of their favourite star.
Actress Aindrita Ray also turned up and cheered for her favourites. Directors Nagasekhar and Mahesh Babu and producer Shankar Gowda were seen supervising the arrangements. R Ashok, Minister for Transport and Katta Subramanya, Minister for Housing and IT & BT also visited the venue.
Meanwhile, most of the people gathered at the stadium were disappointed due to the absence of the popular artistes — Shivarajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar, Upendra, Ganesh, Neetu, Ramya and Radhika Pandit.
It is believed that the Kannada Film Choreographers' Association did not inform the Kannada Film Artistes' Association about the matches. Police made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents during the match. Hawkers were seen doing brisk business outside the stadium. In the finals, the Editors team defeated the Directors’ team by four wickets, lifting the Dr Rajkumar Cup.
The proceeds of the cricket match will be used for the construction of a building for the Choreographers' Association.
