IPL: INDIANS YET TO STRIKE IT RICH

Hardly a week old and already the IPL has acquired a huge fan following worldwide. The extravaganza has drawn fans galore; be it the cricket crazy Indians or foreigners, be it male or female, young or the old. The IPL has definitely succeeded in bringing audience in masses to the stadiums. Families who have been thronging the malls and multiplexes have been attracted towards the stadiums. The IPL games are perceived as family outings. The Indian board has definitely struck bulls eye and has turned the attention of the world towards cricket.

But it is not all roses for the fans. What is a bit distressing is that the Indian players are yet to come to the party. There have been no stellar performances from the Indians so far. It has been the OZs who have been hogging the lime light in the IPL’s inaugural week. Be it the consistent McGrath, or the mesmerizing Warne, the effervescent Hussey, or the emerging Hopes, it has been the OZs who have saved the day for their respective teams. More distressing is the fact that, all the team captains are yet to live up to their names. The likes of Dhoni, Sourav, Sehwag, Laxman, Rahul are yet to impress. Yuvi managed a decent outing against the Royals. It is expected that these prolific players will come to the party soon otherwise the IPL might lose its place in the fan’s heart.

IPL : A CRITICS VIEW POINT

It has been a week of frenzy, excitement, hype and every other sophisticated word that is synonymous with exciting. The IPL definitely has gone a long way in changing the face of the game. But is it a change for the better? - A question that definitely needs to be pondered before adding laurel after laurel to the BCCI.

There is always the omnipresent puzzle about whether T20 is good for the interests of the game. At a stage where organizers worldwide have been trying to extend the time that the game is on air on TV, the game of Cricket has been looking to shorten itself. Its all for the betterment of the game say many. But the purists are of a different opinion, of course.

Moreover the IPL has added value to entertainment features other than the game itself. Cricket has definitely taken a back seat. Dare Devil stunts, concerts, celebrities, ads galore- all this provides a false impression as if they are efforts to keep up a dying game. But that is not the state is it? Cricket is definitely live and kicking. One doesn’t need to look beyond the series down under.

Has cricket become so uninteresting that we require half clad girls dancing around for foot tapping tunes? More than that is this good for the culture of the nation? India has never experienced this before. Is this the right development? Do we need such incursions of foreign traditions?

It seems as though the organizers are desperate to bring crowds to the stadium. But that has definitely never been a problem for India. Over here Cricket is religion and fans throng the grounds wherever their favorite stars are. But Celebrities have lapped it up like never before. Cricket is at the cross roads and the path that we choose will make a lasting impact on the life of the game.

IPL: McCULLUM’S CARNAGE IN THE IPL CARNIVAL

This is it. The gala has begun. On Friday, the 18th of April 08, history was in the making, as the doors of the Chinnaswamy stadium opened to greet the Cricketing world’s youngest child, the IPL. The world came to a grinding halt and a packed stadium and television viewers worldwide were given a visual treat. The inaugural of the IPL was a sight for sore eyes. Dancing girls, musicians, acrobatics and what not. The IPL had a historic opening and one does feel jealous about the Bangaloreans who were able to watch it in close quarters.




Well such an opening definitely raised expectations and the King Khan’s Knight Riders were up to it. A barrage of 6s and 4s followed a s they raked up 222. Mccullum was the Knight in Shinig Armour for the KKR. Seldom has such explosive batting been on display. If someone had doubted about the quality of his bat, they culd be forgiven for it was such an awesome display. The Royal Challengers never challenged Mccullum. The absence of Chris Gayle was not felt which is saying something.

One has to feel for the Royal Challengers as they sorely missed the experience of Kumble and the pace of Steyn. But honestly, Could they have made a difference when McCullum was playing the ‘God’? the King of Good Times would never have dreamt about such a thrashing. If it was McCullum to begin with, it was Ishant and Dinda later in the night, troubling the so called ‘Performers’ with their consistent line and length. The RC were only able to reach half of what McCullum scored.

Even the Gods would not have predicted such a start for the IPL. God save the bowlers as more Blitzkreig is to follow and we are yet to see the likes of Symonds, Sachin, Jayasuriya and Hayden. The organizers could lose too many balls in this tournament.

IPL: FASTEN SEAT BELTS

If you have any appointments for the next forty days, you better cancel it, because one of the greatest cricketing events ever, is about to kick off. The Indian Premier League is all set for a tremendous mind boggling take off, later this week.

Just picture this. McGrath vs Sachin, Warne vs Dravid, Ishant sharma vs Gilchrist, dhoni vs Yuvi, Ponting under Ganguly and much more hot battles on the pitch. Mouth watering right! That's exactly what the IPL features. And if that isn't entertainment then what is?

But all is not roses for the management. The greatest problem for the IPL would be the loyalty of fans as this is not a combat between nations. This is a combat between regions in a cricket crazy nation. Will the fans' loyalty be with the regions or the players? Will a Sachin fan in Kolkatta want him to score big or will his loyalty remain with the Knight Riders? These questions will plague the organiser's minds. It might take some time before the fans adjust to this extravaganza.

Anyway fasten seat belts! Its going to be a rocking month ahead and if you are not excited about the forthcoming matches, then you better meet a psychiatrist.