The Outsider Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Needless to say, like the T20 championship in England and the T20 WC, this is going to be a huge commercial success. T20 sells like hot cakes and the last two days have been a pointed confirmation to it. Big names, big hitting, full stadiums, loud crowds under the lights, jazzy accompaniments - it's designed to sell and will sell. There was intensity and passion in the games from the players. They are taking the matches as seriously as international matches for there is serious money at stake, not just for this year but for the coming years. None of the three matches so far have gone down to the wire but with 59 of them planned in the next month and a half, there are bound to be some close finishes which are going to be talked about for months and their heroes cherished, villians castigated. It's all going to make up for a lot of fun and excitement and I'll be a part of it. But I still don't have a team I support. True, I am taking sides for one team or the other when the matches are being played out, but don't have a team which I really want to win or lose. Maybe that's good - for I can enjoy and watch the matches with less danger to my heart and with a greater appreciation of cricket. Maybe others have strong alliances with other teams and don't share my sentiments. But, it does open up a new perspective to watch the players you have always wanted to fail or succeed depending on which country they were panning out for with entirely opposite emotions. It's still early days and there are a lot of questions to be answered on whether people will keep on turning out to the stadiums and switching on their televisions with the same passion that they are today. The longevity is untested, but for the young cricketers it's not important. They are playing alongside and against their heroes for many years. Most will only gain from the experience of playing, training, and traveling with some of the biggest names of international cricket of the last decade. The enthusiasm of this younger lot seeped through on the field and they are bound to come back as better cricketers when the Indian domestic season kicks off next time. Whats disheartening is that despite the equal cap of $5 million on the bidding of the teams, the final outcome is so lopsided. The Bangalore and Rajasthan units just don't look like decent T20 outfits. Perhaps the businessmen had the money but not the acumen to choose the right players the first time round but it's bound to make a significant percentage of the matches drab and one sided thrashings. The icon status to some players has ended up hurting the tournament. Players like Dravid and Ganguly captaining T20 squads is a pretty bizarre scenario. Some of the youngsters looked clearly out of depth underlining the gulf between international and domestic cricket, but some others like Goni, Dhawan, and Badrinath in their limited chances showed that they could easily be playing international cricket. In the end, it's players like these who are going to be the second biggest beneficiaries of the tournament after the BCCI is done stuffing it's pockets. What the tournament clearly lacks is a vision though. Yes, big names and top players are playing it but all of them say test cricket is the real deal and it's test cricket which is being harmed by the length and frequency of such tournaments. A team like England will tour India for a grand total of 2 test matches and the BCCI doesn't seem to be bothered by it one bit because the public loves T20 and the public brings in the money. So, whereas the public and BCCI are walking off happy from the arrangement, it's the players who are getting shafted out of what they would rather be doing - playing test cricket. Surely, a middle path needs to be found before the cricketers, the actual people who sweat it out, start feeling neglected and putting up half baked performances just for the sake of it which will eventually leave the great sport of cricket poorer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 A more interesting question is whether the Indian selectors will use good performances in this tourney as a basis for selection. If someone like Dhawan scores big runs, will he get chosen in an Indian squad or will he continue wasting his time with Delhi in the Ranji trophy ? I hope this IPL thing is a means to an end. The best players in the world are participating, so good performances should count as double compared to ones seen in regular Indian FC cricket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 This is just day 2 of the 44 day long league. At some point or the other, the intensity is bound to drop, probably even as early as the second week. Crowds will dwindle, media coverage will also stabilize. Franchise based cricket is a new concept in India and so it has caught the imagination of a lot of people. Once the euphoria dies down, then we will really know how popular 20/20 is, in India. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 This is just day 2 of the 44 day long league. At some point or the other' date=' the intensity is bound to drop, probably even as early as the second week. Crowds will dwindle, media coverage will also stabilize. Franchise based cricket is a new concept in India and so it has caught the imagination of a lot of people. Once the euphoria dies down, then we will really know how popular 20/20 is, in India.[/quote'] Yes, i expect the same thing to happen. There are too many games, this competition is too long and people will eventually get bored of it until the knockouts begin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I'm very happy with the intensity shown so far in these games. t's going to be a marathon the IPL but the players look very determined to do well. It was great to see Lee vs Haydos/Hussey, Sharma vs Dravid, Sanga vs Murali, Zaheer vs GAnguly and the likes. The intensity has been excellent, Haydos coming down the track and carting Lee for a four is a testimony to that. The Aussie players have shown extereme intensity so far. No kind looks exchanged, disappointment seen when they are unable to perform to their ability and the intensity they have shown in their fielding is the best so far. Haydos was diving around stopping a single. Hussey batted like he's playing for Australia. McGrath looks pained even when giving singles away. Not with standing an overdose of Tweny20s the IPL was required for us to be able to enjoy the culmination of mixture of international cricketers playing with good intensity. Never mind it's a TWenty20, cricket would have been under loss if this didn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hiten. Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I'm very happy with the intensity shown so far in these games. t's going to be a marathon the IPL but the players look very determined to do well. It was great to see Lee vs Haydos/Hussey, Sharma vs Dravid, Sanga vs Murali, Zaheer vs GAnguly and the likes. The intensity has been excellent, Haydos coming down the track and carting Lee for a four is a testimony to that. The Aussie players have shown extereme intensity so far. No kind looks exchanged, disappointment seen when they are unable to perform to their ability and the intensity they have shown in their fielding is the best so far. Haydos was diving around stopping a single. Hussey batted like he's playing for Australia. McGrath looks pained even when giving singles away. Not with standing an overdose of Tweny20s the IPL was required for us to be able to enjoy the culmination of mixture of international cricketers playing with good intensity. Never mind it's a TWenty20, cricket would have been under loss if this didn't happen. :top: I am simply out of words. You mentioned everything that I felt about IPL. There should not be speculations about how the IPL will ruin the FTP. Why make unnecessary speculations ? If IPL does affect FTP, then make BCCI bend the schedule in such a way, that none of the int'l games affected :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludhianvi Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I am enjoying the first string of matches so far. The crowds have been amazing in the metro cities. Mohali crowd was not full capacity but that is to be expected since it is on the outskirts of the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngindia Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 bangalore and rajasthan are missing a few key internationals. steyn/misbah incase of bangalore and morne morkel/smith in case of rajasthan. so hold your horses. infact punjab batting looked a little thin today. yuvraj should have played mahela instead of katich and what is a old veteran like dharmani doing???? but the action was superb at mohali. brilliant from hussey ,raina and badrinath. raina and badri certainly should be brought in team india for the shorters versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamy Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 IPL has been great so far. It is very cool to see someone like Kohli play McGrath, or Badri playing Warne. Already, I have seen some excellent performances from the local boys: Badrinath, Raina, Dhawan and Gony!! Badrinath MUST be in the national team!!!! Raina has looked damn good ever since I've seen him in the Challenger series. Dhawan looked good here, played Warne well, but he has also disappointed a coupla times. Will watch him for the rest of the tournament. Other than that, I'm impressed also by the intensity shown by the internationals and the gelling as a team of these motley crews. An interesting month ahead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Yes' date=' i expect the same thing to happen. There are too many games, this competition is too long and people will eventually get bored of it until the knockouts begin.[/quote'] Yup, there is bound to be lots of dead-rubbers towards the end of the 1st round. But coming back to the competition itself, the thing that is most heartening is the kind of talent of thats on show here. To bring the world's best, under a single platform and see them perform like this truly a mouth-watering prospect for any cricket fan. In just 2 days, we have seen two pieces of unmatched individual brilliance, first from McCullum and then from Hussey. I hope people who till now shunned 20/20 as some sort of masala cricket also embrace it. 20/20 is no competition for test or one-day cricket. It has its own niche, just like how test cricket has its own space. Both has its own sets of dedicated supporters. But out of mere prejudice, fans shouldnt miss the chance to see some outstanding talents in action. Surely, anyone who saw McCullum the other day will readily acknowledge that it was one of the greatest innings in limited overs cricket history. And there is lots more to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 IPL Round Up Cheers and Boos: I've seen a lot of matches Pakistan has played in Kolkata and never really saw the crowd cheering a Pakistani player whatever his deeds. Yesterday the full capacity crowd perhaps forgot Mod Hafeez is a Pakistani player. In the heat of the contest they forgot Hafeez’s roots and cheered him when as much as they cheer a Ganguly's six when he smoked a six over long on. I'm sure Hafeez would have been delighted by the 70,00-80,000 crowd backing him all the way. IPL has slowly started to evolve and the support for the home team seems to be what the doctor ordered to elicit competitive behaviour among players too. It’s quite a change from the inaugural game in Bangalore where the crowd didn't quite know how to react and supported every act in the field by any player with a cheer. Kolkata and Mumbai didn't warm up to Deccan Charges or Bangalore Royal Challengers. So much so that Rahul Dravid attracted boos at the time of toss. IPL organizers will be very happy with this development and will be laughing all the way. Rahul Dravid didn't mince words mentioning he is not used to being booed by the Mumbai crowd. He better get used to it now. He hasn't experienced the Kolkata crowd yet!!! Rahul Dravid tried his best at the toss to win over the Mumbai crowd by showering praises for turning up for the event and adding to the atmosphere. Unfortunately that didn’t help his team win over the Mumbai crowd’s cheers. It was absolutely reserved for the home team “Mumbai Indians”. Camaraderie: It was good to see animated chatter between the likes of Laxman, Symonds, and Gilly when the lights went down. They were apparently discussing if they should accept the DL method or not if the game was called off. Gilchrist looked the most animated trying to influence the match referee with his concerns and opinions. David Hussey and Laxmi Ratan Shukla hugging and dancing was a sight to behold after they reached the target with some hard work. The feel of winning and the need to desperately win was evident from players of both Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan charges. The grit of the Aussie players was on full show and David Hussey justified the kind of pay he netted during the players auction. Tips and tricks: It was pleasing to see Ponting run up to Ishant Sharma and offer him a couple of tips on how he should be bowling to Symonds in the death. Ishant Sharma duly agreed and bowled every ball fairly outside the off stump and eventually inducing Symonds to hole out to mid off. It is hard to believe Ponting has struck a good relation with Ishant Sharma despite having been at the receiving end few times. Ponting often ran all the way up to the bowlers and offered a tip or two from the experience he draws from his illustrious career. Commitment: No smiles or words were exchanged between the likes of Ponting and Gilly. Nor did Symonds share a smile with David Hussey. Elsewhere Hayden walked down the pitch to cart Lee for a four early in the inning. Ponting wasn't happy given out LBW by Billy and rightly so. The likes of Symonds and Hayden putting in a big dive to stop a single confirmed their loyalty to their respective teams and the hard mile they are going to stride in pursuit to justify their selections. The passion to do well hasn't faded for these Aussie players. They are as competitive in IPL as they are when playing an international game for Australia. Bad habits die hard: Surely all teams are aware of the fair play reward system IPL organizers have employed. The teams even if they don't end up winning will still earn millions if they are voted the best for displaying fair play. Unfortunately bad habits die hard for the battle hardened Aussies. Ponting was the first to show dissent after having ruled out LBW by Billy Bowden in the game between Kolkata and Deccan Chargers. Symonds was no short of fuse when the umpire Hariharan repeatedly called off cutters that pitched in line but cut a long way across the batsman as wides. Animated Symonds' debate with Hariharan was 'followed by Gilly's long chat with the same umpire at the end of the over convincing the umpire why those were not wides. Gilchrist could not give up either on appealing dramatically when the going got a bit tough. Strangely though, the umpire Billy Bowden didn't quite agree with Gilchrist this time around. Gilchrist could teach some of the Indian bowlers how to appeal successfully often. Fair Play: Chairman and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya had announced that under the "Fly Kingfisher Fair Play Award", umpires will award teams, points for fair play, respect for the laws of the game and respect to the opponents. Mallya had said, "Award will be given to the team that accumulates maximum points. The umpires will rate the overall conduct of each team and adherence to the rules of the game. In this sense, it is unique as we wanted the adjudicators of the game to participate; wanted to separate it from the Man of the Match clutter." While Kolkata Knight Riders will have lost few points for showing dissent, Deccan Chargers were not at gain either thanks to Symonds' argument with the umpire on the calls of wides. New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris though may win his team maximum points for “respect to the opponents” category. Scott Styris made a friendly gesture and spoke kind words to an aggressive Laxmi Ratan Shukla after LR Shukla ran into Styris while trying to pick up a single and on the way ensuring Styris does not get to the ball to run David Hussey out. Shukla looked still charged up while Scott Styris dowsed any untoward incident by offering couple of good friendly words to LR Shukla. Man with the orange hat : If you need to know who is the batsman that has scored the most runs in the tourney, look for the one wearing the Orange hat. It's a fantastic idea whomever came up with it. McCullum was the one wearing today as he is the leading run scorer and he stood out from the pack. This is very innovative and something of this sort can be embraced by the ICC too to show honour for the top batsman and top bowler in the world. It's like driving a Ferrari while the rest ride their Hondas and Toyotas. Surely it should feel great to be recognized for a feat like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Disagree on you saying that Dravid should get used to getting booed in Mumbai and other places.. Legends aren't booed. specially Indian legends.. and if u notice, in presentation ceremony, when Dravid came, there was cheer for Dravid.. offcourse Bangalorians didn't travel all the way to Mumbai to cheer for Dravid.. it was the local crowd. Mumbai crowd might suck and appreciating opposition's performance. but Indian legends would never be booed that easily in any part of India. offcourse mumbaikars did that for tendulkar during england tour of India in 06.. but that was due to his pathetic batting run that time.. okay that said.. agree with u big time on the commitment. really fascinating to see all these foreign players getting crazy on every wicket and enjoying and having fun.. they are really giving there 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I don't see anything wrong with the boos by the way. Did you not hear the boos when the Bangalore RCs appealed? Did you hear much of a cheer when Deccan Chargers looked like taking the game away from Kolkata? Don't be in denial or get emotional mate and it's not such a big deal :-D They are supporting their local sides and that is only good for IPL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I don't see anything wrong with the boos by the way. Did you not hear the boos when the Bangalore RCs appealed? Did you hear much of a cheer when Deccan Chargers looked like taking the game away from Kolkata? Don't be in denial or get emotional mate and it's not such a big deal :-D They are supporting their local sides and that is only good for IPL no no, i am not getting emotional.. this booing of opposition(Indian opposition), isn't Indian thing as of now.. but yaa as thet tournament goes, we would see ppl getting into it and supporting their state in a die hard passion and wanting the opposition Indian star to perform badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 If I wanna be a critic, then..... must say, pretty poor camera work ball is being hit on mid on and the camera has taken us to the view of batting team's dug out.. just because the shot was intended to play in that direction but went on mid on.. in all the games, lot of camera graphic errors have been made.. wat say??? infact some of the dismissals haven't been properly shown because of poor camera work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I think in general camera work has been good but there has been couple of times when the camera has panned where there is no action. The game is covered with 6 cameras currently and unlike 8-12 cameras they only have to rely on the single camera that is straight on. Usually if one of the cameraman is unable to pan the camera to the action the TV directors use the other one that has captured the action. That is something that is not available for IPL currently. I'm sure they will start using more cameras. It has to be said the pictures are crispy and look great on plasma/projector. Usually the tv coverage from India sucks, it looks very hazy mostly but this time around the grounds look terrific and the cameras seems to be of high quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 . Usually the tv coverage from India sucks' date=' it looks very hazy mostly but this time around the grounds look terrific and the cameras seems to be of high quality.[/quote'] just what i was telling Varun in the other thread http://indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=100521 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi Cartman Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 there is room for improvement.. Cant hear after toss interview .. the cameras can be a little mis-directed and too many shots of FILMI stars .. especially SRK Still this is soo mucb better than Neela -Peela nimbus production Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi Cartman Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Symonds didnt get booed and that was a surprise ... Mumbai crowd is pretty bad , a friend of mine went to watch Aus-Ind Test match and said they just yell ".. is a bastard" all the time .. their abuse is not limited to the touring side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi Cartman Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 didnt like the idea of "Man with the orange hat " .. looks funny ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts