At 3:30 pm on Friday, her head covered with a white dupatta, Preity Zinta reached the Durban Hindu Temple. Her puja ki thali was complete with coconut and milk, ready to offer abhishekam to the Shivlingam and prashaad to various other deities.

One hour later, her team Kings XI Punjab were to take on the Bangalore Royal Challengers, and she had turned up at the temple to pray for victory, like she had been doing before all other matches that her team have played in Durban this season.

HS Shukla, the head priest of the temple, said he was pleasantly surprised when he first saw Zinta at the temple. “I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew she was here for IPL but I never thought she'd be such a religious person,” he told The Sunday Express.

“She prayed for more than 10 minutes, took my blessings, and I gave her a raksha dhaga. I asked her why Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty don't come here. She smiled and told me not to tell anyone else,” said Shukla, in chaste Hindi. He had worked in a Vishnu temple in Ahmedabad before shifting to Durban three years ago. The temple, the oldest in South Africa, was opened on September 8, 1901.

Taking a cue from Zinta, Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani also visited the temple on Thursday to pray that her team would get their form and success back. Mumbai beat Kolkata by nine runs on Friday. Later in the evening, Zinta’s Kings XI lost by eight runs.