The third edition of the Indian Premier League in its inaugural week has set the tone for another action-packed tournament.
A fter much anticipation, the IPL made a return, this past week, to the country of its origin. And if the crowds at the various venues are anything to go by, then the tournament, now in its third edition, continues to cash in on the craze that surrounds this glamorous avatar of the game. Be it M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, or Eden Gardens in Kolkata, or Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi, all the matches thus far have seen a huge spectator turnout. Clearly, cricket is not going out of fashion in this country.
CHANGE — THE ONLY CONSTANT
The third edition of the IPL has re-affirmed the fickle nature of the T20 format. Yesterday’s champions are today’s minnows and Rajasthan Royals are having to experience this first hand. Injuries to a couple of their key players, England all- rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas and Graeme Smith, have limited their selection options for the remainder of the tournament. But such is the nature of this format that one season can see a dramatic reversal in fortunes.
Mumbai Indians also appears to be a completely different side. Mumbai's success at this stage can be attributed to the fact that all successful teams in the IPL this season so far have had strong contributions from their Indian players that take to the field.
THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL
If one were to look at the four foreign players that can take the cricket field for each team in isolation, then there is nothing to choose between any of the teams. Perhaps Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Shane Bond for Kolkata might even give the impression of having the edge over the Daredevils’ A B de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof and Dirk Nannes. But it is the performances of the Indian names that have proved to be the difference between having a few big names in your team and a well balanced side.
Rajasthan Royals had Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Swapnil Asnodkar, and Munaf Patel contribute substantially in season one. Chennai continue to be strong favourites, year after year, because Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and L Balaji have delivered more often than not. The addition of Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary has given the Mumbai middle order a sense of solidity and with Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and the peerless Sachin Tendulkar already in the ranks, Mumbai looks like the team to beat this year. The lesson in this should not be missed by team owners who will have to go through a fresh round of auctions next year, where the emphasis, other than on buying a few big-ticket overseas names, should be on getting a good mix of Indian players.
OF 100S, HAT-TRICKS, MONGOOSE AND MOTHS
In all, the first week of IPL-3 finished with some standout performances and some intriguing moments of cricket. There was a whirlwind innings by Yusuf Pathan as he almost managed to pull off an unbelievable win for his team against Mumbai. Praveen Kumar's hat-trick against the Royals was equally exciting. Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Jacques Kallis, Chaminda Vaas, Anil Kumble and Mathew Hayden all rolled back the years to give glimpses of their impeccable vintage. Hayden chose the game against Delhi on Friday to unveil the Mongoose, a bat with more meat than wood. Then there was the match at Motera, played between the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils, which had more moths than spectators at the ground.
But if there was one moment that stood out from amongst all of these, it was in the inaugural match of the tournament, played between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers. Sourav Ganguly, fielding at mid-off, lunges in the field, picks up and hurls the ball in a flash at the non-striker’s end, only to see a scurrying VVS Laxman dive and make it to his crease in the nick of time. The sight of two veterans, not known for their agility, diving around to boost their team's fortunes was amusing if not entirely inspiring. Even Lalit Modi could not have scripted a better advertisement for the competitive element of the IPL.
