England star Kevin Pietersen will have a bunch of “naughty’ and “hottie” cheerleaders rooting from the sidelines when he makes his Indian Premier League debut on Saturday.
Pietersen, bought by the Bangalore Royal Challengers for a record US$1.55 million, will clash with good friend Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals on the opening night in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Royal Challengers, owned by flamboyant liquor and airline tycoon Vijay Mallya, had hired the Washington Redskins cheerleaders for the inaugural IPL season last year in India.
PHOTO: AFP
The scantily clad girls obviously failed to inspire, as the Royal Challengers finished seventh out of eight teams in the glitzy Twenty20 tournament.
So Mallya dropped the Redskins and hired 24 members of the US-based Varsity cheerleader group for the second season, renaming them the “White Mischief Gals.”
“A little bit naughty, a little more hottie and a lot more mischievous,” a Mallya company release said of the group, named after his “White Mischief” brand of vodka.
“Necklines plunging, hemlines rising, they are all set to let the mercury soar, higher than any of the sixes that come from the blades of Kevin Pietersen,” the press release said.
The cheerleaders, the release added, have been “specially trained in flirty acrobatic skills for a scintillating on-field performance.”
The use of cheerleading squads last year provoked complaints from some conservative quarters in India.
The Mumbai Indians forced their cheerleaders to don pants instead of skirts after protests from political parties.
The White Mischief Gals will travel across South Africa for all Royal Challenger matches during the five-week tournament, offering fans “flirtatious messages and tips,” the statement said.
Pietersen will only enjoy their support for the first two weeks, as he is due to return to England early next month to prepare for the Test series against the West Indies.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
RSS