Mumbai, April 08, 2009: Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular services providers, today announced the ‘Vodafone Star of the Match’ competition to coincide with the upcoming DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) T-20 cricket tournament. The SMS based competition provides an opportunity for 59 Vodafone customers - one for each match - to win a match ball specially autographed by the winning captain of every match during IPL. In addition, 20 of the 59 winners will also win a trip to South Africa and will be felicitated individually in the post-match presentation ceremonies by the captain of the winning team. Vodafone Essar will sponsor the expenses of air travel, hotel stay, visa charges and the ticket to the match for the 20 lucky winners. The ‘Vodafone Star of the Match’ competition starts April 6 and runs through the entire IPL 2009 season to end on May 20, 2009. Harit Nagpal, Director - Marketing and New Business, Vodafone Essar said, “The tournament will provide a magical experience for all viewers. We are delighted that for some lucky Vodafone customers the experience would extend to being part of the action and even carry home a piece of cricketing history with them.” To participate in the Vodafone Star of the Match competition, Vodafone customers will have to SMS STAR to toll free number 56565 and answer a simple question related to Cricket. About Vodafone Essar Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 23 circles with over 65.92 million customers**. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the ‘Most Respected Telecom Company’, the ‘Best Mobile Service in the country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year’. Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications company. It currently has equity interests in 27 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 289 million proportionate customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group for the Indian market. The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects. Essar employs more than 50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. **Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, February 28, 2009 For more information, contact: Samridhi Sharma / Umesh Nair Genesis Burson Marsteller Vodafone: +91 98202 11064 / +91 98194 23875 Email: samridhi.sharma@bm.com / umesh.nair@bm.com