Thoughts about IPL as the tournament has progressed from fans, critics and players

[amits]

What about the cheer leaders@mit$? How about asking one of them for a date? :P

stop the keyboard abusing

[beetle]

What about the gurrrls?:D

[amits]

i dont like this idea of having cheerleaders. its cricket. we have the cricketers to play cricket & draw crowds

[Feed]

Mixed just right : Kumar Sangakkara The IPL has been a completely new experience for most of the players involved: both for seasoned international players and the Indian domestic players, it has come with new challenges and also things they will surely cherish. More... Opinion | Kumar Sangakkara >> Mixed just right Interactions between international stars and domestic players have been the most encouraging aspect of the IPL May 5, 2008 'Keeping to Lee has been fantastic because he is accurate at great speed, and you can stand well behind' © Getty Images The IPL has been a completely new experience, full of new challenges, for most players involved, both for the seasoned internationals and the Indian domestic players. The most encouraging aspect of this tournament has been the interaction between the two categories of players. We have now seen a lot of good cricketers who wouldn't have otherwise been seen. We have India Under-19 players, or Ranji players, who are coming out and winning matches for their sides. The best part is that everyone is learning from each other. The international stars are learning from domestic players about local playing conditions, the local bowlers, and how the grounds behave. And for the young Indian players it is a perfect opportunity to gel with seasoned international players and have a taste of the pressures that come at this level. They can talk to the international players and find out what strengths they possess, and how they can develop their game further. These interactions stand everyone in good stead. The young guys have opinions that are valuable to the sides. More so, as outsiders, their perspective of international cricket as a game is refreshing. Sometimes they come up with ideas that are from the left field, but are relevant to what's happening out in the middle. They come up with important suggestions for field settings to different batsmen, bowling tactics and so on. When it comes to Kings XI Punjab, the team we have is full of youngsters who are extremely nice, and eager to have a chat about cricket and life in general. The likes of Karan Goel, Tanmay Srivastava and Piyush Chawla are promising young players. I haven't seen enough of some of the other boys, like Sunny Sohal, but there is more to these players than just ability: they have maturity that you usually don't see in such young players from other countries. Many are just out of their U-19 sides, but they possess a maturity that will allow India to put them into the national side very early, and when that happens they will be able to take tough situations in their stride. You saw that in the CB Series in Australia, where the young Indian players showed a lot of maturity when it came to playing at international level. The IPL has also brought along personal challenges for every player. For me, for example, keeping wicket to bowlers I haven't kept to before has been good. Keeping to spinners like Chawla has been especially challenging. He is a good bowler and has a lot of guile and skill. It is hard enough to read his variations, plus you need to learn how to react to the different pitches we play on, and to make it even harder, the batsmen are always on the attack, always moving around in the crease and trying to get runs, which can get very distracting for a wicketkeeper. In such circumstances the basics become all the more important: watching the bowler's hand, watching the ball off the pitch into your gloves, and forgetting what the batsman is doing. With fast bowlers it's slightly easier because you are standing back, and you get time to react and move around. It is still important to know which way the ball is swinging and what the bowlers are trying to do, of course. It becomes difficult when they start bowling slower balls. One of the best experiences for me as a keeper has been to watch Brett Lee run in and bowl. Just the fact that I can stand well back makes it easier for me, gives me a lot of time to watch the ball and move and get into a position to collect it. He bowls at 150-plus and still has the accuracy and the skill to bowl as many balls as he wants to in the areas he wants to - which is something you usually associate with the slower bowlers. 'The likes of Karan Goel are promising talents, and have a refreshing perspective on the game' © Cricinfo Ltd When it comes to batting, it has been much the same, only with minor adjustments. Even in this format, pacing an innings is important. It's not about going hell for leather through all the 20 overs. It's a case of accepting what you can do as a batsman, and trying to work the bowling and the bowler accordingly to get maximum benefits. The pleasing aspect has been that most of the big scoring in this tournament has been done with conventional shots rather than innovations. Once in a while an innovation stands out, other than that it has been conventional cricket shots - keeping your shape, and making sure the whole body and weight is behind the ball. I haven't approached the games too differently in terms of preparation. I have made slight changes, such as using a few more innovations and extensions, fine-tuning the lofted drives, and in terms of identifying my hitting areas. In any case, the shots you play in the middle are mostly instinctive: you try and plan exactly what areas are your strength, and you wait for suitable deliveries to come along. All the other deliveries you try to work for a single. When the ball falls in your area, the shot is usually instinctive. Cricket, especially batting, is a reactive skill. All the thinking, being proactive, the fine-tuning is done in training. Out in the middle, if you purely react to what is bowled at you, you ensure there is no slowing down of your motor skills due to too much thinking. The more instinctive you are, the better it is for you, most times. We have been traveling around India all these days but we haven't been able to see much of the cities. As a team, though, we have been bonding. We have had sessions over a meal or a drink after games. It has been fun, especially with Lee on the guitar. These things are crucial. They help you get closer to each other, and also enjoy the competition a lot more. We've been able to be ourselves and focus on the cricket and express ourselves on the field.

[Chandan]

Thoughts about IPL as the tournament has progressed from fans, critics and players Looks like even the critics are converting into fans! LINK Too legit to quit The first two weeks of the IPL have proved that while Twenty20 is far from perfect, it is a valid form in its own right with its own unique attractions and pleasures Lawrence Booth May 5, 2008 The IPL has seen young players like Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla enhance their reputations © Cricinfo Ltd The complaint has become so common it is losing its impact. Twenty20, grumble the purists, is not proper cricket. What they really mean is this: Twenty20 is not four- or five-day cricket. It is to the Test match what the Washington Redskins cheerleaders are to Rudolf Nureyev. Its lack of depth, they argue, means it lacks intrinsic value. No, Twenty20 is not so much a game loved by the fans and - ask them! - the players. It is the bastard offspring of bastard offspring (one-day cricket) and will lead to ... Ten10? Five5? Yes, one day historians will look back at overs seven to 15 in Twenty20 and deem them as tedious as overs 16-40 in the 50-over format. Well, maybe they will. But one thing is for sure: hysteria and snobbery should not cloud what we've seen in India over the last fortnight. What has become clear is that Twenty20, at its most thoughtful, is a lot more than a bunch of muscle-bound openers with large bats taking advantage of small boundaries (though that is an undeniable part of its appeal to many). Scoff at "thoughtful" if you like, but the best teams are drawing up their plans assiduously off the field and applying them instinctively on it. One IPL backroom staffer told me this week that being a Twenty20 captain is the hardest job in cricket because the game changes shape from one minute to the next. At least in Test matches, he pointed out, you generally know who is going to open the batting for the opposition. Is it any coincidence that Rajasthan Royals, led by the inspirational Shane Warne and backed up by the rigorous Darren Berry and the lateral-thinking Jeremy Snape, have made a mockery of their lowly price tags? Or that Royal Challengers Bangalore, with their coterie of expensive and exquisitely gifted Test cricketers, are just about propping up the table? Even in the opening third of the tournament, the sides quickest to adapt have been the victors. It's pretty obvious that Twenty20 has to do without the drawn-out fascination of, say, Ryan Sidebottom's spell to Sachin Tendulkar during last year's Test at Trent Bridge. But does that detract from the pleasure, however short-term, of watching Warne toss a two-over-old ball to Yusuf Pathan, the offspinner, and instructing him to get rid of Adam Gilchrist? (He did the job too, and added Shahid Afridi in the same over for good measure.) Or the horror of seeing, in the same game, VVS Laxman toss the ball to Andrew Symonds, another offspinner, and instructing him to bowl yorkers? (Warne hit him for 16 in three balls.) Or even of watching Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif operate in clockwork new-ball tandem for Delhi Daredevils? The telling moments may be concertinaed, but they are no less telling for that. There are things to criticise, but what international sporting event has ever been above criticism? The first 21 matches of the IPL have yielded just four genuine last-over finishes. Martin Crowe, chief cricket officer of the Bangalore franchise, told me in an interview that 45% of games in the Cricket Max format he invented - and which, in essence, is Twenty20's spiritual predecessor - went to the last over. Even when you consider that Cricket Max was played across four innings of tens eight-ball overs, this still leaves the IPL with some catching up to do. There has also been some pretty ordinary fielding, especially on the boundary. But most of the ****-ups have been perpetrated by young Indians who have barely played in front of 400 before, let alone 40,000. And I wonder what effect the reduction of boundary sizes to the ICC-allowed minimum has on fielders: does the ball get there just that bit more quickly? Whatever, it surely isn't an indication of an uncompetitive league, as some believe. More like inexperience and nerves. That will change as Indians absorb the importance of athletic outfielding, traditionally one of the most neglected aspects of their game. One incredible catch by Ravindra Jadeja at the Chinnaswamy - eventually ruled not out because he brushed the boundary with his left hand - suggests the lessons do not need to take long to learn. What has become clear is that Twenty20, at its most thoughtful, is a lot more than a bunch of muscle-bound openers with large bats taking advantage of small. Scoff at "thoughtful" if you like, but the best teams are drawing up their plans assiduously off the field and applying them instinctively on it Now is not the time to harp about the shameless hijacking of the IPL by celebrities, or their prominence on the next morning's front pages. That seems to be as disproportionate and hyperbolic a staple of Indian life as football's Premier League is in England. And it detracts unfairly from what has been happening on the pitch, where there has been plenty to enjoy. You might not have suspected it in advance, but several stars are in the ascendant because of the last fortnight. Happily for India, it has not just been the big-name overseas players who have risen fastest. Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Rajat Bhatia, Manpreet Gony, Ashok Dinda and Ishant Sharma have all been busy enhancing their reputations. And the Rajasthan quartet of Jadeja, Pathan, Siddarth Trivedi and now - from nowhere, it seems - the Tom Thumb-like Swapnil Asnodkar, have demonstrated the value of having an all-time legend to look up to and learn from. If the cricket has at times failed to deliver the thrilling finishes the crowds are demanding, then the sub-plots have intrigued even this neutral. Chief among them is the unexpected rise of Warne and his merry men. The cheapest franchise at $67m, they have so far beaten each of the three most expensive: Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, each bought for upwards of $100m. That trio has so far managed five wins between them in 18 games (and three of them have come against each other). It is gratifying to think success cannot simply be bought, even when all the teams are starting from scratch. The IPL also deserves credit for dealing swiftly with its three potential crises. The Eden Gardens fiasco (bumpy pitch, unblinding lights, schoolboy scoreboard) prompted an inquiry and a change of surface. Harbhajan's slap earned him an 11-match ban. Warne and Sourav Ganguly were docked 10% of their match fee for taking competitiveness to an extreme both during last week's game in Jaipur and after it. Perhaps only GA Pratapkumar, the umpire suspended for two matches following the claimed-catch controversy, deserves our sympathy: at worst, he was guilty of deference to Ganguly. A friendly talking-to would have sufficed. More impressive than anything, though, has been the commitment of the players and, with the disappointing exception of Hyderabad, and to a lesser extent Mohali, the engagement of the fans. Yes, tickets have been given away, but they are always are in India to fill out the corporate boxes (a secret: this happens in England too). But the spectators have been encouraged through the turnstiles partly by the knowledge that their teams really are here to win, even if they are here to take the money too. Money can't buy you points: Deccan Chargers, among the most expensive franchises, has been a bit of a dud in terms of results so far © AFP The acid test will come if a franchise or two are out of the running for a semi-final spot by the fourth week. At the moment, though, the fans have bought into the players' performances. Professionalism has played a role; so too the fear of not justifying signing-on fees and the desire to impress foreign team-mates and opponents. Of course, the attraction of contracts yet to be signed cannot be ignored either: the sight of Chris Gayle collecting his fee for sitting on the Kolkata Knight Riders bench with a groin injury is bewildering. But the prevailing wind is blowing from a different direction. "All Warnie talks about is win this, win that, reach the semis, then the finals," Dimitri Mascarenhas said the other day. I wasn't the only one who wondered how committed the players would be. The answer is short and sweet: very. And so what of the future? That's where the traditionalists' concerns hold more water. Gideon Haigh has already pointed out on this website that young cricketers might choose to turn themselves into money-earning Twenty20 cricketers instead of patriotic Test players. Already, men like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly feel like fish out of Twenty20 water: will the likes of Jadeja, Asnodkar and Pathan really want to take all that trouble over scoring 10,000 Test runs and taking 400 Test wickets when they can make their fame and fortune by hitting it long and mixing it up? Of course, this argument rests on the contention that Test cricket is still the pre-eminent form of the game and that it will rumble on as Twenty20 sprouts yet more wings. I think it is, and I hope it will. But it is going to require the national boards to offer increasingly attractive packages to their Test players. Not everyone will be able to manage it. Where the game goes from here depends largely on the administrators.

[Lurker]

Big pile of dung as far as I am concerned. What is Indian about IPL anyway?? This show of tamasha cricket will eventually end up with 40 games, or thereabouts. Yes 40 games. Almost an entire calendar season worth's of LOI. And guess where these 40 games would be hosted?? The same old 8 cities that own these franchises. So an Ahmedabad, a Vadodra, a Vishakapatnam, a Shimla, a Lucknow....much less a Patna, a Cuttack, a Guwahati will NOT end up hosting a single game. In other words for BCCI India exists in these freaking 8 cities. And the biggest bunch of shameless gits they are, as soon as the International Calendar starts the same old Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta will be picking the best games. Yeah sure it is an "Indian" effing Premier league all right. Atleast the ICL was much better in that sense, they did manage to play games at places like Panchkula. Sometimes I wonder if the caste system in Indian society has now moved into cricket where certain pockets are "haves" and others are "have nots".

[Sachinism]

Peter Roebuck: Four Thumbs Up Although still in its infancy, and therefore capable of experiencing a troubled adolescence and disappointing adulthood, the IPL has so far surpassed expectations. Reports indicate that India has been in a ferment and sometimes even a frenzy. Of course, there is nothing unusual about that. Taken as a whole, cricket followers in the region are not inclined to sit in an armchair smoking a pipe before offering an opinion about the selectors, Greg Chappell, Shoaib Akhtar, or whoever else is currently tickling their ivories. To the contrary, the customary modus operandi is to act upon the thought with an alacrity calculated to please Mrs Macbeth and shame Hamlet. That India is agog is not altogether surprising, for the IPL has been an Indian enterprise driven by Indian money and staged on Indian soil. Presumably the players have been feeding upon dosas. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, whose untimely injury has robbed his team of its lustre and its leadership (alas, his replacement has again betrayed a lack of restraint and manners), Indian cricket and the country itself have been seen in all their glory. The IPL has been a splendid advertisement for the nation. Altogether more significant, though, has been the response overseas. Cricket folk around the world have been closely following the unfolding drama. Never mind that winter sports have taken hold in Australia and South Africa, the IPL games have held their own. Never mind that its soccer teams have been dominating the European stage and that no Englishmen have been playing in the IPL so far, England has also become involved Even stuffed shirts have grudgingly admitted that the tournament has so far been a success. These stiff collars tend to take cricket a little too seriously. It is worth remembering that an IPL match lasts as long as an opera (except those written by the more Germanic composers) or a Shakespearean play (unless staged by a Norwegian director). First and foremost, these works of art offered a good night out. They existed in theatres and on stages and only later on paper. Otherwise they were dead in the water. The Swan of Avon did not hesitate to include Fools and songs in his tragedies, nor did he scorn farces. Audiences can forgive anything except tedium. Afterwards the masterpieces were identified and their virtues extolled and examined. In short, cricket ought not to be shy of providing brief entertainment to the population at large. In some opinions the IPL has laid it on a bit thick, but then, traditionalists are not forced to attend. Suggestions that the game will be permanently damaged by these exuberances are also unduly pessimistic. The trouble with traditionalists is that they present themselves as protectors of the game's values but are actually doomed romantics. They lament the present state of affairs yet resist innovation. Casting themselves as heavyweight, they reject the slap-happy, mistaking it for the slapdash. But it is a mistake to overestimate the past. It was not such a fine place. Nor is it possible to pin cricket into a book, like a dead butterfly. That the game is in poor health and could hardly sink much further could be argued with equal force. All the more reason to break the chains, to let the game try its luck in a different format. Doubtless there will be a price to pay, but is there so much to lose? Take a closer look at the situation. Supposedly, ten nations play the game to a high standard. Among them, West Indian cricket is in freefall, Zimbabwe reels under appalling governance, South Africa is trying to recover from the past without destroying the future, Pakistan is beset by political complications, Bangladesh is fighting to escape from the poverty trap, and New Zealand thinks mostly about rugby. Oh yes, and India has not produced a high-class batsman for a decade. The IPL will bring untold wealth. The next step will be to invest it wisely. There is much to be said on the IPL's behalf. Certainly, the standard and sincerity of the contests has been a pleasant surprise. Some coruscating innings have been played, mostly by Australians, a bunch happy to adapt and determined to conquer. Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey were among the first to reach three figures. It is no small thing to score a hundred in an innings lasting 120 balls, half of them faced by partners. Admittedly the boundaries are shorter and the balls damp with dew, but the bowlers are hardly lobbing them up. Also, fortunes have changed in a minute. In the space of a few balls the most cheerful bowler can come to resemble a chef whose favourite dish has been burnt by an underling. Mind you, the champions have overcome. A certain retired 38-year-old from Narromine has been economical, and a blond bombshell from Victoria has been taking wickets and coaxing victories. The IPL has also impressed in three other important areas. Far from insulting spectators, a common enough practice around the world (it might be cramped seats or dirty rest areas or pricey refreshments), it has treated them with respect. By all accounts crowds have been entertained and informed. Doubtless a few glitches have occurred, but they are to be expected in the early days of any adventure. Certainly, the grounds have been heaving and everyone has seemed to enjoy themselves. Nor have home crowds failed to support the local lads, albeit that few of them were born in the neighbourhood The IPL has also placed an emphasis on sportsmanship. At the opening ceremony the captains signed a document promising to abide by a collective code of conduct. Has that happened before? From a distance it appears that the matches have been played in excellent spirit. All the more reason to condemn Harbhajan Singh's latest boorish outburst. It is high time India took him and Sreesanth in hand. Harbhajan, especially, has found a cheap route to heroism. It is not appropriate for a 27-year-old to act like a petulant child. Nor is it sensible for local supporters to cheer him merely because he defies the Australians. People think I have been soft on Harbhajan. The point has been absorbed. It is time he was isolated and confronted. The IPL's other great legacy will be the way it enhances the fellowship of man. Most previous attempts to bring together players from all nations have been unsatisfactory and fleeting. This is different. Now players from different countries, some of them supposedly bitter rivals, some of them with axes to grind, must work together in common cause, discussing tactics, forming partnerships, sharing rooms, socialising and so forth. And it has worked. In a recent column Kumar Sangakkara wrote about playing alongside Brett Lee, recently a fierce opponent, and against Murali. Apparently Shane Warne and Graeme Smith have been knocking around together. Far from hurting the integrity of the game, the IPL may advance it. Maybe the sledging will soften and passions will be more easily cooled. Perhaps the very word will be replaced by "chirping", the South African version, a name indicating an altogether lighter touch. Always there will be borderlines but the players will know each other much better and that will take away the nastier edges. The IPL has captured the imagination. Interest may decline a little as the Australians report for duty in the Caribbean and so forth. But it is here to stay and the ICC must find a regular place for it in the fixture list. April need not be the cruellest month. To the contrary, it should be given over to this vibrant form of a mostly serious game.

[gopsy]

T20 analysis T20 is like an escapist . It doesn't cure cricket of the problems, it's like a sugar coated anesthetics that keeps pain for a short duration. And ofcourse all people including me fall for the sugar coated stuff. But it's hardly gonna be the future of cricket. Teams batting first scores T20- < 150 = <100 SCORES IN ODI T20- 150-180 = 260-280 SCORES IN ODI T20- >200 = >300 SCORES IN ODI So i see that an addition of 25-30 runs to the 150 score's like adding a 100+ in ODI'S. It makes all the difference!!!! And so T20's aren't really making the matches more interesting, they are merely making it crisper with a chocolate flavor of boundaries and sixers. Otherwise Crickets's like suffering from the same old miseries of bad bowling standards and pathetic pitches.

[Holysmoke]

ok.

[varun]

ok.

that's exactly what I said when I read the OP

[umpire]

what you wrote in 20 lines you could have just done in one. 20-20 is shorten version of 50-50 :haha:

[yoda]

nice analysis. :giggle:

[amits]

ITS ENOUGH OF MURDER OF CRICKET. JUST END THIS MEANINGLESS TOURNAMENT NOW :mad: and its time ipl started to give more of respect to bowlers & banned the >160 scores

[gopsy]

what you wrote in 20 lines you could have just done in one. 20-20 is shorten version of 50-50 :haha:

:embaressed_smile::giggle: May be you are right !!!!!!!:haha::haha:

[gopsy]

sorry for the no point thread.:giggle:

[Feed]

Dimitri Mascarenhas: Postcard from the Indian Premier League Dear All, My first taste of the Indian Premier League comes to an end after tomorrow?s game against Delhi, but the good news is that I may very well be back here in Jaipur before the end of this year?s competitionMore... Dimitri Mascarenhas: Postcard from the Indian Premier League Last updated at 23:33pm on 9th May 2008 Comments Dear All, My first taste of the Indian Premier League comes to an end after tomorrow's game against Delhi, but the good news is that I may very well be back here in Jaipur before the end of this year's competition. >p>My team, the Rajasthan Royals, are still joint top of the IPL table and, all being well, will qualify for the semi-finals in the next couple of weeks. Semi-final aim: Dimitri Mascarenhas I would love to come back for the finale at the end of May and negotiations are taking place between the Royals management and Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove. I am very hopeful I will be able to help the Royals lift the inaugural trophy. I haven't had much of an opportunity to show what I can do here but if I am able to play in the semi-finals and final it would help earn me a bigger contract in next year's event. Sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate and it's fair to say I won't be getting rich from my first spell in the IPL. You have to remember that I am only paid pro-rata for the time I spend here and when you think about the money you lose back home, this isn't necessarily a get-rich-quick venture. Put it this way: I won't be splashing out on any new cars just yet! But you have to look at the bigger picture and, as well as the money, there is a real sense of excitement at being in on the start of something big. I'm very positive about the IPL — the interest and atmosphere at games remains quite extraordinary. We played in Mumbai the other day and I have never heard noise like it at any other cricket match I've played in. We were mobbed wherever we went and were constantly in demand for autographs and pictures. It was a contrast to our home base of Jaipur, where life is a lot quieter. I read with interest that Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara turned down the IPL this week but, to be honest, it might not be that straightforward. I'm speculating here, but I reckon it's more the fact that, at this late stage, their counties have refused them permission to go. I doubt very much whether the players themselves would turn it down. I was lucky because my approach came at a much earlier stage and I was able to come to an agreement with Hampshire that kept everyone happy. English players will be here next year, believe me. Everything has been run extremely professionally and I have learned a lot about Twenty20 tactics from Shane Warne while I have been here. Hopefully, that will be to Hampshire's advantage when I get home. Yours, Dimitri Mascarenhas

[The Outsider]

IPL format is a drag and waste 55 matches to decide which 4 out of 8 teams will play the semi finals!!! It appeared crazy when the tournament started but the agony is really starting to pile up now. If they indeed wanted such a long drawn league format then they should have got rid of the finals and semifinals and decided the winner purely on the league rankings or at the very least got rid of the semifinals. A clearly dominating side can be knocked out in an arbitrary format of cricket lasting 3.5 hours rubbishing the efforts of a month and a half. Ridiculous.

[yoda]

they should have two halves with 4 teams each. same half play each other twice, across just once. play best of 3 semis and best of 3 finals.

[Ram]

This is NOT a tournament, this is a league. Asking for IPL to finish early is like asking the NBA season or the NFL season to get over in 4 weeks. The only problem is, unlike Basketball, mainstream international cricket has so far enjoyed considerable commercial success. The only thing we could possibly complain about is the over-kill of cricket and not the format of IPL. And I also dont agree with the

clearly dominating side can be knocked out in an arbitrary format of cricket lasting 3.5 hours rubbishing the efforts of a month and a half.

For a tourney that asks each of the 8 teams to play 14 league, only the 4 best teams will qualify.

[The Outsider]

Yes, the best four will qualify but what's the point of playing 54 matches to decide the best 4 out of 8. Its not that there are 20 teams in the league. Just declare the team with maximum points the winner or at the very least choose 2 out of 8 and do away with the the semis. The last quarter of the league will probably have lots of meaningless matches for the top 2-3 teams who would have all but made the final 4 by then.