From all accounts the 2nd IPL is not as roaring a success as the first one. The reason is not just that it is not held in India. It also has to do with the pitches in South Africa. In India the pitches are slower and favour the batsmen. Consequently the IPL last year had huge individual scores and a multitude of sixes and ‘over the top’ stroke play that had the audiences loving the cricket ‘Tamasha”.
South African pitches are more evenly matched between the batsmen and the bowlers. Consequently, the matches are lower scoring, even though the psychological war between the bat and the ball is more ferocious. But 20/20 is just not long enough to play out this battle. This is a game of street cricket rules : “Hit out or get out”. Imran Khan would have loved to bowl in this 20/20. He was one of the most difficult fast bowlers to hit. Gavaskar said that Imran at his best was unplayable. His swing completely unpredictable.
Even though Imran said the 20/20 was not cricket. It was Tamaasha.
“Out of sight out of mind” also has a part to play in the failure of this bigtamasha.
Then there is anger against taking it outside India. I for one dont feel like seeing the matches or even reading about them.
With the entry of cheerleaders it has become like www of cricket.
Sometime back I wrote a satire on it at
http://www.bigtamasha.com/2009/04/ipl-chairman-analysing-pitch.html
Hi Shekar!
this time around IPL is not so much fun…they say the scores contribute and now the rains….I am amazed when they did so much and organized such a big spectacle they didnt take the weather into account..basics…outdoor matches..It is sad that it is not generating that much hype this time around and then I feel sad it moved out of India…such a loss to our economy and also cricket lovers denied of the opportunity to watch matches..Also slightly sad they gave away 9 million for an education initiative there…(no probs with giving them the money or with the initiative…it is great to sponsor education of children anywhere in the globe) but then hello! that wud have gone a long way if given to India…we need all the hlp we can get in the sector. all in all this time around IPL has lost its appeal for me at least.
The most ridiculous part has been T-20 matches decided by Duckworth-Lewis method! 😀
Hi, good post. I have been thinking about this topic,so thanks for sharing. I’ll certainly be subscribing to your site.
Its tamaasha alright and much less cricket, but who doesn’t love entertainment?:)
Why you people are in so much hurry to make an opinion. When this article and most comments were posted , not even 30% of matches have been played. Agreed that relocation of tournament has reduced the number of fans on ground but it has not affected the fan following on TV. In fact its fan following on TV has increased. Many people who were confused till last year about whom to support, are now very clear about the players and their respective teams.
And all those people who say that 20-20 is not cricket, have they watched yesterdays match between CSK and KXI or match between MI and RR? Are they following what masterstroke decisions are taken by Warne or Dhoni during the game? Are they following how the point table’s structure and fortunes of teams changes with every match? Are they following how last years two losers team DC and RC are giving nightmares to other top teams with same players they have last year. Are they following that Lasit Malinga economy rate is as good as it should be in test matches that too when he is bowling against world’s most ruthless batsmen. Have they seen batting of Mtthew Haden. And where else on universe you see a contest between Jayasuyra Vs Murlidharan, Haden Vs Macgrath, Dhoni Vs Zaheer and many more . Ignore the cheer girls, commentetors and omnipresent commisinor(What ever that means) Modi, you will find 20-20 has all the beauties of cricket. Only thing different is that you have to act quickly and margin of error is zero here.