Indian Premier League (IPL) - the much hyped up T20 league has got off to a huge start. Going by what happened on the opening day of this series, the amount of publicity and positive response garnered from the general public was very high. TheTRP ratings for SET Max hit the roof and broke all previous records for cricket.( Link) Though the crowds in the stadium thinned down for the Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, the subsequent matches witnessed pretty good crowds.
Some thoughts...
Match Winners
As of now it's been batsmen all the way. Before this series started, my friend Robin was saying that a "team would be as strong as the weakest link" and I agreed with him. Little did I realise the irony of this statement then. For, it was the bowling department which was as strong as the weakest link. Batsmen can easily go after one or two bowlers and get high scores. On the other hand, the batting department shone as brightly as the brightest star batsman of the day. A look at the man of the match (MoM) awards will glaringly reveal this fact. One out of the past seven matches featured a bowler getting the MoM award - Mahroof in Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals. A batsman's contribution gets more highlight than a bowler's contribution. Case in point: Shane Watson's 76 n.o. was judged to be better than Shane Warne's 3-19 in Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab. Though it might seem too early to reach these conclusions based on just seven matches, these results are an indicator for the way things will shape up.Team Loyalty
It's way too early to expect die hard supporters for each team. The stadium still has people sporting the Indian tricolours during the matches. It will definitely take some time to witness fan loyalty for the teams on the lines of English Premier League. There will be a spark which will light up the flames of passion and create rivalries. But it's still early days for that.Scheduling and Competition
If IPL becomes a success, other cricket boards would want to start their respective domestic leagues.There will come a time when these league matches will become more popular and better money spinners than international matches. One day matches will become passé but test matches will stay. Soon cricket will become a global game, as envisaged by ICC.
Enough of dreams, wake up to the reality! The only thing I expect to happen in the medium term is the huge scramble for the best talented players from each country. As long as this format doesn't seep to the lowest leagues with every level being professionally managed the above words would only be words.
Enough of thoughts. It's now time to cheer Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Welcome to the lion's den my dear Mumbai Indians (MI). Well, MI would better describe what Team Mumbai is trying to achieve - Mission Impossible!!
Check out the Chennai Super Kings' fan site.
4 comments:
I still find this tournament more and more $$$ oriented. U jus want to hit the ball outside the ropes. And keep hitting it tat way, u wll become star overnight! It still lacks the pleasure of watching all round cricket match!
@Sai
I entirely agree with your comment. BCCI's 'orders' to ground staff to prepare batsmen-friendly pitches, reducing boundary length and the overall way in which each match has been going are indicators for this.
There will be some way by which condensed format of cricket can be made an all-round team effort.
Sreeram,
Thanks for the link... Hey city based loyalities will surely happen sooner than latter.. Chennai cheered for CSK but gave a mute response to Mumbai Indians.. Though Sachin transcended that boundary... Hyderabad's muted response to Sehwag.. Lot of people coming dressed in yellow for the match... [Me dreaming of a day when everybody coming for the match are dressed in yellow]..
- Robin
@Robin
Pbly Chennai missed out on the biggest yellow colour fan - our own CM. :)
Jokes apart, the excitement and tension towards the game's end was very high. I could feel that at home. This was one match when I desperately wanted Harbhajan to get out without making much damage! And so would have millions of CSK fans.
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