I’m not a die-hard cricket fan even though I love watching the game and become quite emotionally invested in it. Last year’s IPL scandals kind of put me off the game – enough to not get too excited when it came to a town outside of India for the first time. We were lucky enough to get a few much-sought after VIP passes to the Gala Dinner and opening ceremony of the tournament here in Abu Dhabi. After that I was happy enough to watch the games in the comfort of my home, cursing or cheering to my heart’s content without fear of offending or disturbing anyone.

It was pure coincidence that the celebrity owners of the various teams all decided to show up at the games on the day that we decided to go and watch the games live. So there we were, sitting just in front of of Shilpa Shetty and Sunil Gavaskar for the Rajasthan Royal’s complete and utter thrashing of the Royal Challenger’s Bangalore. Juhi Chawla and Preity Zinta also decided to wander into our box (we were in the Chairman’s Box after all!) and after the beginning of the second match, Shahrukh Khan and his daughter came to sit with the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, Sheikh Nahayan, and watch the game with us.

Have to say one thing for the Khan, he knows how to take defeat gracefully. He didn’t mind that I was sitting right in front of him waving the opponent’s flag and cheering on the team that seemed hell-bent on wiping their feet on the KKR’s back.

My colours this IPL are Blue for the Royals and Red for the Kings.

Go Royals! Go Kings!