Something so successful is bound to change the rules of the game. Remarkably, players managed to translate loyalty sold for money into real loyalty to the team. When Sachin Tendulkar caught Watson in the make-or-break match against Rajasthan, it could well have been the catch of his life. Those who watched the final saw an Australian legend and a young Pakistani celebrating together after the final ball. The spectators too caught on. In Delhi's last match, the entire Ferozshah Kotla erupted when Tendulkar was out. That would have been unthinkable without the IPL. It helped that this format is not turning out to be the batsman's paradise that everyone expected it to be. In the latter half of the league phase, teams struggled to pile on the runs, unless someone like Yuvraj Singh went berserk with the bat.
Bigger, deeper changes can be expected before the IPL's second season next year. With the novelty gone, will the new spectators remain interested? Other countries may want their own international Twenty20 league; England is already planning one. It will be interesting to see how a resurgent BCCI persuades
