From Icarus to Ajax….

Well back to blogging ways after a long break. And what better way to start than describing the match I saw at Chepauk,Chennai. It was the clash of the titans,the contest between old and the new, it was the Prince fighting the Kings for the crown.I expected a close encounter between the two keenly contesting sides,but to the disappointment of everyone it turned to be an one-sided affair,with the Kings living up to their title.

IPL or the Indian Premier League,our cricket version of England’s football league has managed to draw huge audience.It is a complete package.A well marketed product, launched at the right time and at the right place. First of all among the 8 teams in the fray,I m undoubtedly supporting Chennai Super Kings.Reason,though I m currently residing in Bangalore now,Chennai is like a second home to me. I had spent four years of the most beautiful part of my life there.So a lot of emotional strings are still attached to it. I always get that sense of belonging when I enter the city. Its like I m entering ‘enga area’.Other cities don’t seem to embrace me the same way Chennai does.

And since IPL is all about supporting the team with which you identify yourself with,it has got to be Chennai and nothing else.

Well watching a match at Chepauk is real fun if you ignore the scorching sun and the humidity which will make you sweat in buckets. And if its a T20 match the fun quotient just quadruples. The ‘kuthu’ songs, people ‘kuthufying’ for those numbers all around you,the frolic,the constant chanting, the cheergroup and not to miss the Chennai girls are a heady-mix and a treat for the senses . Also the crowd is as sensible as you would find anywhere around the world.They never fail to appreciate real talent.Even if Saeed Anwar smashes Kumble all around the park,they see beyond patriotism to applaud it.

IPL T20 matches have brought in a different angle to the game.Its a different experience altogether.You are always caught between you favourite players and your favourite team which has your not-so favourite players.This is something new to everyone,at-least for the cricket crazy nations.Cricket,or any sport for that matter,is always known for the high levels of patriotism attached to the matches.If India defeats Pakistan its equivalent to wining a war.If England grab the Ashes from Australia in England its payback time in Australia.

But this tournament has changed it all.Take the recently concluded high-voltage series between India and Australia.It will forever be remembered for the controversies and verbal spats that surrounded it than for the cricket played.Hayden was hated by one and all for calling Harbhajan an “obnoxious weed” and inviting Ishant for a boxing match. Ponting was called by various names for trying to win by hook or crook. But the same Hayden and Ponting,who were hated by all back in India a month back, received an arousing reception here because they are in your favourite team.When Hayden hit consectuive fours off the same Ishant Sharma,people cheer him rather than showing sympathy towards Ishant.

And would you believe that the Hyderabad crowd refused to applaud Sehwag when he hit a 50 against the Deccan chargers?He was pleasantly surprised when no one moved when he raised his bat to the crowd.The same Sehwag was celebrated like a demi-god when he hit a triple century less a month ago.

Well,what consequences does this tournament have on the future of cricket? Cricket would no longer be the sober game played over five-days,with cricketers moving around in the field lethargically and the crowd watching it with drowsy eyes. It will be all about energy,reflexes and quick wit.Fielders throwing themselves around,plucking catches out of nowhere,and batsman defying all the rules of traditional stroke-play would become the norm.

The games glamor quotient will jump by leaps and bounds.Though cricket still has a lot to catching up to do with F1 and Tennis in this front, the game has definitely become a lot more ’sexier’ with the whole galaxy of film stars pitching in along with the professional cheergirls being ‘imported’ from other countries by business tycoons.

‘Commercialization’ has become the ‘in’ word. Everything the sports authorities do has a huge amount of money involved behind it.We are left but to wonder if there is one single thing which doesn’t involve money. And over the course of time, we just have to pray that the sport isn’t pushed on the back-foot giving way for other things to take precedence.

The format should be conducive for the players from different countries to develop cordial relationships.After all they have to practice,travel,stay and play together.As someone said in the papers cricket has become truly secular.Where else would you see an Australian wicket-keeper patting a Pakistani bowler for taking a South-African wicket. But its sad to see when players from the same country end up mocking and slapping each other just because they are in opposite teams. A healthy rivalry is always welcome,as long as it doesn’t go over-board.

Right now IPL is riding on the back of money and glamor. But it wont take it too far unless the sport and spirit take over.