<b>Cricket:</b> Fans miss World Cup opening gala

A rude late night shock awaited cricket fans who stayed up last night just to watch the opening ceremony of the World Cup only to find Govinda greeting them from the screen.

SET (Sony Entertainment Network) Max, which has won the right to telecast the World Cup here, sprang a surprise of sort by ignoring the opening gala, which took place early morning in the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium in Jamaica, and showing movies instead.

A spokesperson of the channel, however, had a ready explanation for snubbing the event.

"We did not broadcast the opening ceremony, for we were not sure how many people would be interested to watch that. Anyway, it's not all lost. We will show part of the ceremony in tomorrow's Extraa Innings," the spokesperson from Mumbai said.

It, however, came as a practical joke for the likes of Kalyan Goswami, a retired government official, who felt dejected.

"Opening ceremonies always appeal to a large section of the viewers, be it Olympic, Asian Games or soccer World Cup. I was more interested in watching it because Sir Gary Sobers declared it open. I've seen him play in the Eden Gardens in the 1960s and was eager to see him so many years down the line. Thanks to SET-Max, it was not to be," he lamented.

Ashwini Anand, a software enginner, sounded equally disappointed.   "I knew I would be late for today's office if I stay up so late and yet I decided to watch it. Instead, they showed some craps. It just proves that they have no love for cricket, despite their claim 'Dewana Bana De'. They just bother about revenues," he said.