The charm of watching sports

Cricket in its most royal form

I hear many people lament these days about cricket losing its charm. Now I see 2 possible reasons for this:-

1. Cricket’s major event in the last 2 months – IPL , was long and boring beyond a point.

2. The ones who lament are the purists.

I think the ongoing Sri Lanka vs. England series would have brought back smiles on the face of these critics. The second test match which began on June 3 was special. The opening day of the test match saw England batting against a thin Srilankan bowling attack. The conditions were perfect for a test match. You had the sun shining and there was a slight breeze. Welegedera and Lakmal were bowling with a beautiful line and length and the ball was moving. Fielders were crowded around the bat. Players were in whites. The lush green outfield looked fresh and serene. The sight was truly blissful after 2 months of bat dominating the ball. Add to that England was 3 down for 22 within 10 overs. This was an ideal start for a bat v/s ball contest.

The point I wish to convey here is, this sight was lost in cricket for the last few months. This sight is what attracted people to watch the match initially. More than anything there was a delight in watching test cricket. This is exactly what T-20 lacks. You don’t feel the beauty of the contest in a T-20 match since it’s over in a blink of an eye.

On a different note, on the same day there was some other sporting action which confirmed my belief that sports still has not lost its grace. This was Roger Federer v/s Novak Djokovic semifinal at the French Open.

Djokovic was in the form of his life not losing this entire year. Federer was not having a great year after losing to Djokovic at Australian Open and some indifferent form with the racquet. The first set saw some amazing short making from Federer – especially his back hand. Djokovic ensured the competition was intense with his powerful forehand winners. The second set was won relatively easily by Federer with a score of 6-3. Djokovic came back to win the 3rd set 6-3. Federer finished the game winning the 4th set 7-6. I think this was one of the best matches Federer played in recent times. His service game looked in control most of the time. He was getting his aces and drop shots. Though his unforced errors were more his winners too were more. On the whole the game looked simply beautiful that you enjoy every point.

This was the second proof I had on the same day. Watching sports is like driving a Maruthi Car, but it can at times be like driving a Mercedes or BMW.