The Hype
If anyone believed that the IPL and the “Cricket ka Karmayudh” was all hype and nothing else, then all they had to do was watch the inaugural game between the Kolkatta Knight Riders and the Bangalore Royal Challengers to see how wrong they were. And why wouldn’t it be a big success? Throw in a lot of money, bring in the best players, and play the most entertaining format of the game in front of a cricket crazy crowd and you just can’t go wrong.
The Inaugural game
Granted, the names of some of the teams in the IPL sound a bit corny and the inaugural game itself was one sided, but what a game it was.
In just the first game, McCullum broke the record for the highest individual score in the game’s short history with a score of 158*. And when Ishant Sharma, the new Indian bowling sensation took out Rahul Dravid’s stump with his first ball, any “challenge” the Royal Challengers had left wilted away.
Cricket set for change
IMHO, the tournament itself is going to change the way cricket is played across the world. Test cricket may not be under threat from T20 cricket, but I feel that One Day cricket is under serious threat. Why would you want to play 50 over a side game, when you can get much better entertainment value playing just 20 overs a side? I asked the same question after the success of the T20 World cup and I am asking the question again – Why would you want to continue playing One day cricket? It is only a matter of time, when the 50 over game is relegated to just 1 or 2 matches in a series.
Team affinities
It is still early days for the tournament and I am sure people across India are still trying to chose their favourite stars and teams. I for one, am still undecided. I naturally gravitate towards the Chennai Superstars, as Chennai is where I grew up. But sometimes, where you live may not decide which team you root for. Have any of you decided which team you are going to support?
-Mahesh-
7 responses so far ↓
Indian Premier League - IPL » IPL lives up to the hype // 19 April 2008 at 12:50 pm |
[...] Original post by i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket… [...]
sanjaysub // 19 April 2008 at 3:39 pm |
Managed to catch about an hour’s action. McCullum’s knock was incredible! As I watched Bangalore collapsing my thought went parallel. Afterall aren’t there football games where a couple of games in the first 10 minutes can make the rest of the game dull and boring! Still the players were quite involved, there was energy when Kolkata celebrated the wickets and it was very different to those old meaningless exhibition/benefit matches that we have watched in the past. This has the potential to take off big time!!! As for me I will remain a Chennai fan. Though the thought of opposing ‘God’ when we take on Mumbai is daunting. But I have to get used to it. Afterall did I not support ‘Cheekaa’ in the days of the other ‘God’ when TN took on Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. So be it!
nags // 19 April 2008 at 5:17 pm |
One question in my mind was how the overseas players would blend with the local players . Was surprised (pleasently) to see them ‘be there’ ( esp Ponting running up to Ishant and celebrate his wickets ).
RC did not did not have a clear game plan and it was all over in the first hour. MCcallum was cruel. I stayed up a bit to see how RC would respond. Disappointed.
Good thing about this format , If it is onesided, you dont end up feeling you wasted your time.
Harsh // 20 April 2008 at 4:02 am |
Consider having a look at the team of Deccan Chargers…they are amazing and one of the best fielding sides…
Harsh
http://www.mantrablogs.contentmantra.com
Srikanth Mangalam // 20 April 2008 at 9:26 am |
The most hilarious sight of the IPL beginner was to watch Jaffer and Dravid go out to bat chasing a huge total in a 20/20 game. Did they look like fish out of water! The B’lore team is the weakest and the saddest of the lot. Watching 38 year old Sunil Joshi run around the field said it all about this team..
Super Kings super « i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket… // 20 April 2008 at 12:15 pm |
[...] captain of the World cup winning T20 team, and the other was lead by the vice-captain. After the inaugural game between Bangalore and Kolkata, it seemed 222 in twenty overs was going to be hard to beat, and yet Chennai managed to score 240 [...]
Indian Premier League // 28 December 2008 at 11:12 pm |
This is a perfect site about IPL Indian Premier League