Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The second edition of the Indian Premier League, now on in South Africa, is already considered a confirmed hit if the TV images are any barometer to gauge the success of an event, writes VIJAY MRUTHYUNJAYA.
South African cricket fans are indeed having a gala time and it is more than evident on TV. The pretty cheerleaders, more than anybody else, are getting prime time and uninterrupted attention.
With no moral police or behavioural economists around to tick them off, they are also having the time of their life even though their pranks have sometimes overshadowed the performance out in the middle.
In some ways, there has been more action in the stands than on the ground. The close-ups of unsuspecting spectators and their reactions once they find out they are on the big screen, the placards with catchy slogans, the flags and other accessories are also adding to the overall scenario.
But much to my chagrin, or confusion if you may, I have been lately watching this 'tamasha' with increasing cynicism and ebbing enthusiasm. What was to be a concentrated version of one-day cricket with non-stop action is rapidly getting diluted due to some pedestrian cricket and often predictable results.
In the second edition of the IPL so far, 150 runs seem to be par for the course. The side batting first has invariably reached this target either by having a galloping start and then suffering a mid-innings slump or the other way around. And the side chasing, has eventually won or lost the match in the final over in the same way as the team setting the target.
Any which way the ending has been the same save for one or two matches. The one between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders went into the super over which the former won while the other between a rejuvenated Bangalore Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians was well decided within the first 10 overs of the chase.
The other noticeable feature of this IPL is the fact that the novelty of players of different nationalities playing for the same team is fading fast. Last year, the sight of Rajasthan captain Shane Warne egging his younger and clearly raw youngsters and getting the best out of them was awe-inspiring, and won him all around admiration apart from the trophy.
He has certainly continued to be a source of inspiration for his team but somehow the magic is missing.
The second edition of IPL has also proved quite a few points emphatically. Top of the list is that age is no bar and secondly that the role of a pinch hitter is getting undermined.
Each of the eight teams have their own share of 35-plus players but almost all of them are giving their younger counterparts a run for their money. Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis have all been match-winners with the bat while Anil Kumble, Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan have done like-wise with the ball.
The other revelation is even more exciting. The role of a pinch hitter was a crucial one in the early days of one-day cricket. Now we are seeing the reverse of it - the pinch hitter becoming a punch hitter - has worked.
Some food for thought indeed with the Twenty20 World Cup just a month away.
