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IPL can almost be dubbed as ‘Intensely (and) Passionately Large’. Everything about the IPL is colossal – the crowds, the decibel levels of the stadium roars and the stadium music, sometimes outside-the-stadium queues too. The glamour quotient is high and so is the excitement of the commentators – sometimes natural, sometimes artificial. Nevertheless, it is large. The glitz and the adrenaline, the partying and the chanting and no one groans in disagreement or disenchantment, not so early at least.
Season 6 couldn’t have had a better script for its first week. The entertainment conjured by the contests can still be bracketed under ‘large’. What is surprising, exhilarating and for cricket lovers, a little encouraging is the number of low scoring thrillers that we have had so far. Season after season, I have seen smaller boundaries, bigger bats and massive 6s. This season, the scores have come down, the quality of the bowlers has shined through, and just when summer is eager to spread its tantalizingly tortuous wings, spring is still holding on, at least on the cricket ground.
The RCB-Mumbai thriller
RCB was down and out, well almost. But it is not over while Gayle is on the crease, for he of the Herculean arms and bat swing can mesmerise at all junctures. And mesmerise he did, powering RCB to 156, which still was a low score for Mumbai’s vaunted batting line-up. In the end though, Mumbai fell tantalisingly short, losing by 2 runs. Pollard had played just the last 2 deliveries, one of which he managed to send to the ropes, and Mumbai showed why they deserved to lose.
The Chennai-Mumbai thriller
Mumbai seem to have a penchant for last over finishes, like we saw in the previous season too. This year is seemingly no different. After losing a thriller, they manufactured another one and won it. Batting first this time, Mumbai managed just 148, thanks largely to Pollard’s half century. Some other day, we will crib about why they don’t learn from their mistakes and why Pollard still walks in at No.6. For now, we will just focus on the match, where Dhoni almost threatened to break Mumbai hearts, almost. Chennai lost by 9 runs, the last over turning out to be an anti-climax after Dhoni fell early when Pollard pulled a stunner at the ropes.
The Hyderabad-RCB thriller
Sunrisers Hyderabad, a team trying to reinvent itself with new owners and a new setup; RCB, one of the big spending franchises this season; it was a David and Goliath match-up, or so I thought until I was proved wrong. RCB managed just 130 in their allocated overs, huffing and puffing, after having lost Gayle very early to a hitherto unknown player. Hanuma Vihari’s contribution hadn’t ended there, even though he would still be proud of getting Gayle on his first ball. He came back to haunt RCB with a cool and composed innings as wickets fell around him.
Vinay Kumar bowled a gem of a last over for RCB, taking the contest into the Super Over phase. But Vinay Kumar couldn’t repeat the last over magic, conceding 20, which proved one too many for Gayle and Kohli. The Sunrisers had defended just 126 against Pune earlier, a team which on paper was a far stronger side. Now, they managed to avoid undoing all their good work in the first match. They have a good bowling side, the Sunrisers, with Steyn, Ishant and Amit Mishra. They would hope their batsman get some runs too.
The Rajasthan-KKR thriller
It didn’t go down to the wire. But it was a thriller all right, largely due to one man, Eoin Morgan. Royals posted a paltry 144 on a pitch that had some grass and helped seam movement, something rarely seen at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Kolkata fell 19 runs short, Morgan falling in the 19th over after scoring a classy 51.
What warms the fans’ hearts is the way the team with scant resources is beating the team with abundance. Rajasthan and Hyderabad were no match up for the massive squads owned by KKR and RCB. The low scoring matches are proving to be quite exciting; in fact far more endearing than those of the previous years, where it rained 6s and 4s.
The tournament is still in its early stages and the trend might be short-lived. But for the sake of good quality cricket, one hopes the intensity stays up. The curators too can join the action by preparing pitches that are sporting, not highways that give airstrips a run for their money. West Indian players have been the dominating contributors, proving that their T20 World Cup win was no fluke either. Low scoring thrillers, for once, have done nothing to taint the largess of the IPL.
