Identity Crisis

The premier Indian tournament is here and after the World Cup excitement, the Indian Premier League has appeared to have lost some of its charm.   Watching the 4th edition is like watching a sequel to Mad Max which doesn't feature the original actors in their usual roles but different people with similar looks.  As in sequels, the interest is considerably reduced and it requires much more than plain acting ( playing in this case ) to make it attract attention.

BCCI has contributed to the event negatively by scheduling it just after the World Cup and India winning it didn't help matters either.  Some franchisees have also chopped and retained players to get a winning combination by forsaking the identity of the team with their loyal fans.  Giving a discount on the merchandise , reducing ticket prices does not necessarily guarantee that a KKR fan will not miss Sourav and come and watch the revitalised team. The others are more loyal to the game or the following they bring in and have  retained their top draws.   Still I am yet to see a fully packed stadium and definitely the numbers in the stadium will be better than the viewers on TV.

I seriously have a problem associating myself with any of the teams in IPL, having been born in Hyderabad ( Deccan Chargers ),  spent early childhood in Kochi ( Tuskers :(  ) ,speak Tamil ( CSK ), educated in Pilani for 6 long years ( Royals ?) ,worked in Delhi and Bangalore ( Daredevils or RCB ).  That leaves me only with 4 teams for whom my support  doesn't count at all.  Both at home ( my daughter supports MI, my wife  despises the antics of KKR Shahrukh Khan and is in awe of KXIP's Preity Zinta's costumes ) and anywhere in India ( 1 million of them would anyway  be Sachin fans ) ,  I would be a minority counting for little like the Indian middle class.  The World Cup had the best players of the countries and here you have a minimum 70 Indian state players who are still yet to sort out a Malinga or Warne.  The DLF maximums and Karbonn Kamaal catches are sensationalised branded outcomes of  normal cricketing events.  The commentators try to generate interest by crying hoarse for every single taken and the cameras showing filmstars have made it a movie where cricket is just an incidental thing.

Neverthless the game still enthralls the die hard despite the bowler being reduced to a " Thanks for coming" kind of role.  The pitches have slowed down and the ball not coming on to the bat make it more a mental thing and adjustments and recalibration are required in the middle of the innings to get to some total which you can defend.  This is where a cricketer like Tendulkar or Mahela's cool head counts and many a time the chase has not  been timed to perfection and results in a negative result. Slower bouncers, scoop shots are all played and these are the take aways from the IPL to the 50 over game.  Whether it has contributed to the global reach of the game, time will tell and definitely the game is vastly different from what it was and guess I have to to change to keep up with the times.

Last Step that Counts

The World cup is well and truly over and as expected India , the favourites won .  As history suggests, it is easy to be underdogs and surpass expectations than to be a favourite and win.    This is not to deny the credit where it is due, in '83 when India were not expected to win a single match and won the cup.  The matches were played in alien conditions in front of few diehard fans who wanted to have a glimpse of their famous heroes in test cricket rather than ODIs.  There was hardly any expectation at home even when India reached the final, when they were expected to be thrashed by the mighty West Indies.  Hopes had evaporated during the half way mark in the final and nothing short of Kapil Dev dare devilry and inspiration could help them resurrect themselves which they did.

Though it is easy to compare the 83 win and the 2011 win, it would be more pertinent to compare the win against the closest India came to winning in 1987 and 2003 ( one at home and the other away).  India in 1987 , was the host and had the advantage of playing all their matches at home in an easier group.  In the semi final , they bowled first and conceded around 250 in the same ground and made heavy weather of the chase and eventually lost. Most batsmen played a shot too many whereas in 2003, India were on a match winning spree after the loss against Australia and came up against Australia in the final.  Strange selections of winning the toss and bowling first accompanied by the selection of Dinesh Mongia over Anil Kumble hurt India from the first over which Zaheer bowled.  India were chasing the dream from the first over and true to the script and contrary to million Indian hopes , Australia won emphatically.  

A few characteristics are unique to the eventual winner and while Australia had this in the previous editions, India had it in this one. The captain is as good as his team is the popular saying but the difference that a captain makes in crunch situations determines whether a side is on the winning side.    Dhoni is not one of the stereotypes , he is not like the previous world cup captains : the mercurial Kapil , reticent Azhar, process driven Dravid or the finicky Sourav.   He is one who combines all these virtues or deficiencies in one soul with a balance unseen till date from an Indian skipper.   He is blessed to have an allround skill of wicketkeeping and batting and being a keeper has a significant advantage of watching the action straight on rather than side on where you can guage the line and length of the bowlers effeciently.  Also on the lighter side , wearing a helmet and glasses conceals the pressure and reveals less to his opponents and his players about his state of mind which  has soaked up the pressure and sweat in equal measure.

He imparts belief in his team mates that causes are not lost the moment your opponent is going hammer and tongs at you and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel albeit a dimmer one.    A year ago in the IPL, one of my colleagues who has always been a fan of Dhoni remarked that he could pull CSK out of the dumps midway through the second season and he did at Dharmashala when it mattered most.  A similar situation was on offer in the final this time and he again promoted himself ,stuck to his task till the end and finished it with a flourish that would immortalise him in the annals of Indian cricket history. 

India are the World Champions today ,  the six of the last ball would find an equal footing with the Kapil catch of Richards and the world recognises and believes that India are the ruthless Australia of the late 90s.  Watching the World Cup from 1983 ,  I have also been a tiny part of the journey watching and supporting the Indian cause and this team has given me everlasting tears of joy and hope that we are emerging as a superpower in cricket atleast !!