''Extraaa Innings T20'' (also popularly called 'Extra Innings') is a
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
based show telecast in between match sessions during the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as Tata Group, TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 cricket, T20 Professional sports league organization, franchise cricket Sports league, league of India. It is annually contested by ...
(IPL) that covered match analysis and expert opinions from commentators, retired players and other experts in the sport. In any typical match, the show took place with a pre-match analysis, discussion during the match break and post match analysis. The show was hosted by television personalities along with ex-cricket players in Mumbai's RK Studio. The hosts took turns to traverse between the studio and stadiums during random match days which made it easier for them to have interactions and interviews with players during the course of the match. Drummers, dancers and cheerleaders were an integral part of the show. This, along with the stadiums almost always having a full house attendance with a carnival-like atmosphere had given the tournament a high television viewership since its inception in 2008. All these factors have made the IPL the most expensive sporting league in India. It broadcast its last episode on 21 May 2017 during 2017 IPL final. It was replaced by ''Star Sports Cricket Live'' after
Star Sports Star Sports refers to several current or former Asian sports networks owned by The Walt Disney Company:
* Star Sports (East Asian TV channel)
* Star Sports (Indian TV network)
* Fox Sports (Southeast Asian TV network)
Fox Sports (formerly ESPN ...
bought the
broadcasting rights
Broadcasting rights (often also called media rights) are rights which a broadcasting organization negotiates with a commercial concern - such as a sports governing body or film distributor - in order to show that company's products on television o ...
.
Hosts
Hosts usually take the role of introducing the expert panel, asking them questions and interviewing the players while on field. Extraaa Innings T20 was amongst the first sports show in India that included a predominant number of female anchors in a largely male dominated sport. Ever since, there has been an increase in the number of female commentators and hosts in India's franchise-based sporting events like the football and
kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...
. Archana Vijaya, an MTV VJ, has hosted the show in several seasons with her experience as an anchor in similar shows such as ''Tour Diary for extra cover'' and ''Cricket Masala mar ke''. She was the only female anchor in the last edition of Extraaa Innings T20 as the other female hosts had prior commitments. Singer and model
Shibani Dandekar
Shibani Dandekar Akhtar (born 27 August 1980) is an Indian-born Australian singer, actress, host and model. She began her career working as a television host on American television. Following her return to India, she began hosting several show ...
has anchored the show in several seasons.
Mandira Bedi
Mandira Bedi (born 15 April 1972) is an Indian actress, fashion designer, and television presenter. She gained recognition by playing the titular role in the 1994 television show, ''Shanti'', which was telecast on India's national channel, Doord ...
, a prominent face in the television industry who was a host in ICC World Cups 2003 and 2007, had been a host in the 2009 season. Other female hosts who have featured on the show include Rochelle Maria Rao,
Pallavi Sharda
Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1990) is an Australian actress of Indian descent, and a classical Indian Bharathanatyam dancer. Her film credits include Oscar nominated film ''Lion'' (2016), Bollywood films '' Begum Jaan'' (2017) and '' Hawaizaad ...
Sameer Kochhar
Samir Kochhar (born 23 May 1980) is an Indian actor and television presenter known for being the host of the pre-match Indian Premier League show, '' Extraaa Innings T20''. He currently stars in Netflix India's Sacred Games.
Career
Kochhar sta ...
had been associated with the show since its inception. Describing the fun and glamour in the IPL to an interview with '' The Hindu'', he said "Commentary here is not just about talking. It’s a lot about music, dance and well-tailored and colour-coordinated clothes."
Gaurav Kapur
Gaurav Kapur (born 11 April 1981), also spelled as Gaurav Kapoor is an Indian actor, television and cricket presenter known for being the host of the pre-match Indian Premier League show, '' Extraaa Innings T20, Cricbuzz Live and his youtube show ...
is yet another prominent anchor bringing some light humor into the show. Other anchors who have had short stints include
Shiv Panditt
Shiv Pandit (born 21 June 1984), known professionally as Shiv Panditt, is an Indian actor, model, emcee, radio jockey and television host. He is the brother of Gayatri Pandit, who has been an assistant director on the films ''Desi Boyz'' (2011 ...
in 2008,
Meiyang Chang
Meiyang Chang (born 6 October 1982) is an Indian actor, television host, singer and a dentist. He came to prominence as a contestant on the third season of the singing reality show ''Indian Idol''. Following this, he began his acting career w ...
Angad Bedi
Angad Singh Bedi (born 6 February 1983) is an Indian actor and former model. He made his debut with ''Kaya Taran'' in 2004, an adaptation of a Malayalam short story by N. S. Madhavan, ''Vanmarangal Veezhumpol (When the Big Trees Fall)''. He ha ...
in 2010.
Experts
The experts answer questions and share their analysis of the match with the anchors. Several of these experts from the show also play the role of commentators during some matches.
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian National Congress politician, television personality and retired international cricketer. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of T ...
is amongst the most celebrated in the expert panel, managing to blend in his poetic commentary with light-hearted jokes and occasionally mentioning his peculiar ''thoko band'' to direct the drummer to beat the drums.
Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle (born 19 July 1961) is an Indian cricket commentator and journalist. He’s widely known as a "voice of cricket". Bhogle has cemented his reputation as being a personality in the global cricket broadcasting industry.
Early lif ...
with his extensive experience as a commentator has appeared numerous times on the show, often switching roles as a commentator and appearing in presentation ceremonies. Other prominent figures from the cricketing world who are part of the panel include
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ ; born 10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the grea ...
Ramiz Raja
Ramiz Hasan Raja ( ur, ; born 14 August 1962) is a Pakistani cricket administrator, commentator, YouTuber, and former cricketer who served as the 35th Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board between September 2021 and December 2022.
As a pl ...
,
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career.
Ak ...
,
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis Maitla HI (Punjabi, ur, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the gre ...
,
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra (born 19 September 1977) is a cricket commentator, youtuber and former Cricketer who played for the Indian cricket team from 2003 to late 2004.
Currently, he is doing Hindi cricket commentary for Viacom18. He worked as a c ...
,
Ajay Jadeja
Ajaysinhji Jadeja ( born 1 February 1971), known as Ajay Jadeja, is an Indian former professional cricketer, who was a regular member of the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000. He played 15 Test cricket, Test matches and 196 One Day Int ...
,
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, who along with opening partners, Just ...
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (Pronunciation: əpiːl deːʋ born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, and was named by ''Wisden'' as the Indian Cricketer of the Cent ...
and Kris Srikkanth. Among the ex-players from the women's teams, commentators like
Anjum Chopra
Anjum Chopra (born 20 May 1977) is an Indian former cricketer and current cricket commentator. The first time she stepped onto the cricket ground was at the age of 9. She played her first friendly match with the college girls' team at the inter ...
Isa Guha
Isa Tara Guha (born 21 May 1985) is an English cricket commentator, television and radio cricket broadcaster, and a former England cricketer who played in the 2005 World Cup and the 2009 World Cup.England women's team are among the others to have appeared on the show in the expert panel.
2015 introduced the concept of television viewers asking questions to the experts through social media, some of which would be answered or critiqued by the experts on the show. It also included a section called ‘what’s hot, what’s not’ wherein panelists would discuss the highs and lows in the match.
Celebrity guests
The high amount of viewership generated by the IPL provides the
bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
and television personalities a chance to promote their movies and shows. Over the years, many well known actors have appeared on the show, often coming up with performances and songs to give the viewers a sneak peek into their upcoming projects.
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
, who usually remains present in the gallery rooting for his team, has appeared in the show to promote his movie ''
Chennai Express
''Chennai Express'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Gauri Khan and Karim Morani, based on a story by K. Subash, with a screenplay writ ...
''.
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone ( or ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most po ...
has been on the show multiple times, promoting ''
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...
'' in 2012 and
Piku
''Piku'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by N. P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri and Sneha Rajani. It stars Deepika Padukone as the titular protagonist, Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan, with M ...
in 2015. Other actors who have been on the show to promote movies and shows include
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though ...
,
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kap ...
and
Arjun Kapoor
Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor working in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producer Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with romance ''Ishaqzaade'' whi ...
,
Karishma Kapoor
Karisma Kapoor (born 25 June 1974) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. A member of the Kapoor family, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award and four Filmfare Awards.
Kapoor made her acting d ...
Ritesh Deshmukh
Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor, comedian, television presenter, writer, director and film producer. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh. He works in Hindi and Marathi ...
Shraddha Kapoor
Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of several awards, inc ...
and
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awa ...
,
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
and
Emraan Hashmi
Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hashmi debuted in 2003 with the crime thriller film ''Footpath'' and subsequently appeared in films include '' Murder'' (2004), '' Kalyug'' ...
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one- ...
(of the
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
tag team The New Day) alsoappeared on the show, with Ewen displaying his cricketing knowledge due to his father playing cricket in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...