 Riches of talent, a commanding start to IPL4, Sachin Tendulkar, the devastating Malinga and Kieron Pollard, are yet to combine together to secure Mumbai’s position in the play-offs. With their net run-rate currently the lowest among the top 4, Mumbai could well find themselves out of the tournament, if the last couple of results go against them.
This is mystifying, given their strong line-up, but yet, not so mystifying, given their strange strategies. Sluggish starts and greatly under-utilised resources have seen them lose their last 3 matches on a trot. Mumbaiites must, even now, carry the bitter memories of their loss to Chennai in the finals of IPL3, when Pollard was sat awaiting his turn to bat, until it was all too late and too much to do for him and for Mumbai. As with Mumbai’s last loss to Rajasthan, again proving to be a case of a woefully slow start, and finishing with a total which was made to look paltry by the rampaging Shane Watson.
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| Mumbai skipper Sachin Tendulkar in an animated chat with his strike bowler Lasith Malinga during an IPL game. |
This victory also gave Rajasthan’s captain, Shane Warne a send-off that he richly deserved, and would have most certainly enjoyed. Even though this week saw him being levied a hefty $50,000 fine for his very public spat with the Secretary of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, his contribution to the IPL in general and Rajasthan Royals in particular has been enormous. One hopes, in the end, his off-screen controversies like his varied infidelity reports, his phone messages, his doping controversies and love for the tabloid will all fade in memory, and he will eventually be remembered for his true legacy as one of the greatest bowlers of modern cricket. IPL has truly lost its showman!
One has to love the Punjab Kings XI story. Running Nita Ambani close as the most dedicated team owner, Preity Zinta, has from the first IPL, been so integrated into the Kings XI team cheering their every little success and with more heartbreaks that not, it is heart-warming to see them finally have a good run. Uneven scheduling with lesser matches upfront, had seen them in the lower end of the table for the most part of IPL4, but now, with a string of matches and some commendable victories, they have given themselves a fighting chance for a position in the top 4. And if anyone thought that Ghilchrist’s heydays were well past, his blistering century against the powerful Royal Challengers has clearly shown that his batting powers are still potent enough to take the resurgent Punjab Kings right through.
However, to see a team like Punjab, with such a distinctive fan-following, without the likes of Yuvraj and Harbhajan in its ranks is a shame. Just as one feels that Gambhir is a Delhi-boy belonging to the Daredevils, while the Kolkatta fan desperately needs his dada, Sourav Ganguly.
This indeed brings us to the falling IPL TV ratings. Remember, IPL was a format conceptualised and built around television viewing. If the ratings are falling by 20%-25%, amidst claims of rising viewership by the broadcaster, it still means that people are switching on, but not staying tuned in to the channel. Viewership fatigue over cricket aside, the re-auction along with the introduction of 2 new teams has unsettled the format considerably and with the tournament reaching its final stages, it could well take all of IPL5 for team identities and loyalties to build again.
This IPL is also proving that in a T20 format, individual players can influence results single-handedly, much like Gayle has done for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. But for their consistent all-round team effort, the table leaders and title-holders, Chennai Superkings deserve a special mention. They have been solid in their batting, while their fielding and catching has been among the best and their bowling has almost always strangulated the opposition, particularly in the crucial middle overs. No doubt, credit has to be given to Dhoni, who seems to be ascending new heights in leadership qualities and an inherent ability to convert close situations to victories.
The fact that they have a 100% win record in all their home matches exemplifies the use of home conditions to their advantage. Another feather to the cap of leading the fairplay awards completes the “Whistle-Podu” (blow a whistle) Chennai story. With the finals being played in Chennai, as also one of the eliminators, Chennai fans must now be relishing thoughts of a repeat of last year.
On a week where the bright-lights of the IPL stars and cricketing grounds faded in comparison to the beautiful, wondrous and almost ethereal lights of Vesak that illuminate Sri Lanka, one hopes that IPL 4 will culminate into an explosion of cricketing exploits worthy of the talent and the reputation that this tournament carries.
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