Katrina Shines at IPL

Katrina Kaif during the semi-final. (AP)

The Katrina hurricane is blowing here in the Bullring.

At the start of the IPL, if you were to play Dus Ka Dum (sorry, Salman) about which Bollywood hottie had a greater chance of creating a splash in the closing overs of the second season, you would have gone for a Preity Zinta or a Shilpa Shetty. Definitely not Katrina Kaif, who’s suddenly become the Bollywood mascot for this all-important final weekend of IPL South Africa.

She is the brand ambassador of the rejuvenated Royal Challengers Bangalore, she is dancing in the closing ceremony, she is judging the Miss IPL Bollywood contest… from Montecasino to Wanderers, Katrina has completely taken over Protea land.

“Nothing like that… it just feels great to be a part of something like this,” giggled Katrina, when The Telegraph got in touch with the Namastey London star.

But it was Katrina the brand ambassador who was summoned first. The actress was shooting in Singapore for Priyadarshan’s De Dana Dan with Akshay Kumar when the Royal Challengers Bangalore started their remarkable turnaround in the IPL. Owner Vijay Mallya made the call and Katrina was more than happy to join the team for the final few matches.

“She has brought us a lot of good luck… wish I could take her to the Formula One matches as well,” said Mallya, who flew in from the Monaco Grand Prix — he is also the owner of the Force India F1 team — in his private jet to catch the semi-final versus the Chennai Super Kings here.

The invitation to perform in the closing ceremony came once the Morani Brothers, the event managers of the final IPL night, couldn’t get other Bolly biggies.

According to a source close to the IPL organisers, Shah Rukh Khan, who is very close to the Moranis, was expected to perform in the closing ceremony if he had come back to South Africa for the second leg of the tournament.

With SRK deciding not to return after the Kolkata Knight Riders’ ouster, Bipasha Basu was approached, who turned down the offer. It was then that Katrina stepped in.

If Katrina replaced Shah Rukh in the closing ceremony, she replaced the other losing owner, Preity Zinta, as the judge of Miss IPL Bollywood.

And if there’s one Bolly lady Katrina has to fight for popularity stakes, it’s Shilpa Shetty, who will not only be the co-judge for the beauty pageant but will also do her bit in the closing ceremony. But ever since the Rajasthan Royals failed to make it to the semis, Shilpa has been lying low.

Katrina, however, has no such problems. She might be representing the Royal Challengers but her favourite cricketer happens to be from the Chennai Super Kings.

“M.S. Dhoni is my favourite… so what if he is not part of the Bangalore side,” she said. “He is the Indian cricket captain and one of the best cricketers we have today.”

Being a last-minute addition to the IPL extravaganza has meant that Katrina has had no breathing time ever since she agreed to perform in the closing ceremony. She has been busy learning the moves she will make tomorrow night to the Pussycat Dolls version of A.R. Rahman’s Jai ho from Shiamak Davar.

“It will be a lot of fun and I am totally up for it,” signed off Bollywood’s golden girl, who’s clearly nudged out the Zintas and the Shettys without even paying a single dollar… by rather making a few crores.