Howzatt!

It was a sight to watch Preity Zinta rush out to hug everyone in sight wearing a red t-shirt after Yuvraj clinched a victory. One of the surprise beneficiaries was Ness Wadia, her reportedly estranged beau.

Cricket is really bringing out the strong emotions in their otherwise collected owners — we’ve seen Nita Ambani praying, Shilpa Shetty doing a no-holds-barred turban dance, Shah Rukh blowing sardonic kisses. It’s almost a hark back to childhood.

“I think you can see at least a dozen emotions on a person’s face in a few moments of their watching cricket,” agrees adman Bharat Dabholkar. “It really makes people go back into their childhood and I think that’s a good thing.”

The on-screen emotions of these celebrities are even pleasantly surprising their friends. “We all know how calm and composed Nita is all the time, but the game is of course an emotional trip,” says Chhaya Momaya. “She gave the tightest hug to her mother after her team won, she’s waving flags and greeting players personally. The only time she’s so joyful is when she’s with Mukesh and the kids. The personal involvement is because it’s her team and so every victory is a personal one.”

While designer Manoviraj Khosla has watched a match with friend Vijay Mallya, he struggles to think of any overt reactions from the liqour baron. “It’s pretty chilled out. The boxes from where we watch the match are lovely. But it’s just any other match, even if he happens to own one of the teams,” shrugs Khosla.

Clearly, till the team picks up, that box is more concerned with drinking their sorrows. Well, after his team’s thrilling upset victory over Preity’s boys on Friday, he just might be catching the first flight back to South Africa for a real celebration this time.

(With inputs from Ismat Tahseen)