Sreesanth

Mohali: The body language was different. There were no frayed tempers and no tears shed on Sunday as Sreesanth shook hands with the Delhi DareDevils after Kings XI Punjab won convincingly.

The ceremonial handshakes, this time, were conducted well inside the boundary line. On Friday, against the Mumbai Indians and during the infamous Harbhajan-Sreesanth altercation, the porch hid most of the view. This time the teams were “directed” to carry out formalities in the full glare of the cameras.

“We wanted complete transparency this time,” a PCA official said.

Sreesanth looked subdued on the field. He was expensive and taken off after bowling only two overs during which he gave away 25 runs. But he fielded well.

Earlier, during the Kings XI innings, he did not get the opportunity to bat.But he did take every opportunity to run in and congratulate the bowlers from the deep whenever a wicket fell. The only thing that was missing, however, was the aggression he is famous for.

When he came in to bowl as first change in the searing heat, he was greeted with a loud cheer from the crowd.

Asked about how he was feeling, a calm Sreesanth simply waved and smiled as he hopped into the team bus.

Even if he was feeling the pressure of having to stand up to Harbhajan Singh in New Delhi on Monday, he did not show it.

The others also seemed hardly worried. For Kings XI co-owner Preity Zinta, it was hugs all the way. Throughout the match she was seen cheering on the team, often clapping at Simon Katich as he stroked his way to a hurricane 75.

For the first time, the Bollywood star mingled with the crowd, moving around the stadium with just a handful of security personnel in tow during the break.

DareDevils captain Virender Sehwag termed his team’s loss as “good”. “It is good to lose early in the tournament rather than later. The loss will help motivate the team further,” he said.

Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh said the team had started playing consistently and that he expected good results in the upcoming matches.