April 25 saw the big finish to the most-watched Indian Television event spanning a month. The best team of the tournament played the comeback team, and lost. As a Mumbaite and foremost, an SRT supporter, I’d had a reasonably satisfying IPL until then. As Chennai’s catches went down and Mumbai’s wickets fell, the writing was on the scoreboard. Chennai won comfortably. I shrugged and went to bed. The next morning I drove to work with my mind on the meetings ahead and my to-do list. There was some chat and consensus about how the Mumbai think-tank might face problems if asked to design rockets given their structuring of the batting order. But then, there was more chat about Modi, Tharoor and ‘IPLgate’.
What was most noticeable through the duration of the IPL was by absence. There weren't any heated discussions about when matches were lost. No arguments over captain’s choice to bat or bowl at the toss. No expletive-laden rants at borderline umpiring decisions. No excited high-fives about team victories or airs of despondency over losses.
Not anymore. Starting 30th April, there won't be performing celebrities or ‘foreign’ and ‘domestic’ players. Catches won't be named after cheap blackberry knockoffs, sixes won't be named after overpriced realty. But the matches will matter. We'll talk about brilliant cameos and inspired bowling changes. We'll delight in the opposition batsmens’ suicidal running. We will exult when our team scores the winning run and cringe when they fall short. It’s the world cup and cricket will take center stage…and that’s how we like it.
"Anoop is another one of those millions who thinks that having played some university and club-level cricket qualifies him to critique and analyze the game at its highest level. He blogs at outsideedge.wordpress.com where the one redeeming feature is the honest disclosure by way of his nickname, donthaveaclue"