Desicritics Section: Sports

Poetry: Beaten But Not Bruised, For Black Stars in 2010

Vivek Sharma — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:47:34 EDT

I am here to say what score-lines, statistics will not show, not say
on July 2, 2010, the Black Stars played as a pack of tigers on attack,
like disciplined Ashanti warriors, covered the battleground with shots
not one of which was let out without a soaring roar from a spirit
that will not cower, that will not submit. With the honor

that swells and raises every supporter's fist,
I declare you Ghana, the beloved at the tryst,
with your sweeping runs, you earned inch
after inch, and your rousing extra-time play
was almost like a masterpiece from an artist.

Almost!

But greatness, when it begins in men and women, transcends
the moment when they acquire it. Enlightenment stays with us,
the dream and its expense remains in us, and Black stars, that ability,
that gift you claimed in your veins, will win you the moon if you aspire it.

When the men take the ground, run around, like children chasing
a ball, many pen-paper-men ask, is it a worthy task
for the best built bodies? How will the empty stomach celebrate,
or the living conditions change, if the poorest nations win
in a match of kicks and tricks this season?

The gambit of hope, of advancing no inheritance, just skill,
with team-play, by action, and sheer faith to fight:
the excellence on field parallels the best of human qualities...
In the houses where cooking produces just ashes of despair,
healing hymns and rhymes of sport show you if you have the flair,
you can be a famed gladiator in the rich-man's dreamlands.

Chinua says, things fall apart, yes, they do, but like autumn
sheds leaves, seed to start afresh in spring, the bruised
will heal. Gyan! Why you missed one you mustn't ask,
the bar of expectation was too low for your task,
but there won't be such a surprise again,
when the Black Stars will strike again.

Gita says: "You control only actions, but not the results,
even if the results are adverse, continue your actions."
Since the victory is in action, irrespective of the result,
Fold your jerseys bathed in your golden sweat, kiss your boots
and accept a bow from fans who cheer across the world for you.

There will a day Ghana when no hand, no bells and whistle,
no intervention, human or divine, will stand to stop you.

Wrong Calls Kill a Country

ssdt — Tue, 6 Jul 2010 07:49:35 EDT

FIFA has made some commitment in their "bad calls" by their referees in this World Cup. Frank Lampard's goal in the match against Germany was the major mistake done by any referee in this world cup. Another mistake was done in the match between Argentina vs Mexico when a clear offside got Argentina to take the lead. The committee will reconsider bringing out a video technology system to identify the right and the wrong calls much more precisely during the match. Angelo Favarelli of the Bleachreport argues that, video technology in football is impossible.

Football on the other hand, is a free-flowing game, interrupted only by the odd bad tackle or dive. [..] Video technology would only serve to ruin a fast paced and action packed match further. [..] Video technology would also ruin the post-match analysis and the sheer unpredictability that makes football such a unique sport. Nearly everything that happens in a match is a talking point of some kind. What on Earth would the pundits and analysts do at the end of a game if there was nothing to discuss and pass opinion on? [..] And of course there is nothing more exciting than watching a manager's post-match reaction, especially when the referee has denied his team a clear penalty. Again, video technology would only come along and ruin that.

But does the apology actually benefit the players at all? Batter's apology saying : “I deplore when you see the evident referees’ mistakes. It has not been a five-star game for referees. I’m distressed by the evident referees’ mistakes. The only principle we are going to bring back for discussion is goal-line technology, for situations like the Mexico game, you don’t need technology. We want to keep football as a game of the people with a human face, so we don’t want technology on the field of play because we want to maintain the spontaneity of football — played, administered and controlled by human beings."

So, what is allowed in many others sports are banned in this, the most popular sport? This not only changes the ideology that one has towards the game of football but it changes their intention to watch it or not. One might argue with me that stopping the game actually will take away the rhythm of the game and many players will them fracture during their performance but if this video technology is bought with a much bigger screen television to watch where the change is being done, then the game would continue in it's own pace. The rightness would prevail and the truth would then show up in the game. If that happens, then the wrong calls done by referees would not be much of a "kill for the country".

FIFA World Cup 2010: The Threshold

Kaushik Chatterji — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:51:33 EDT

(for part II click here) The vuvuzelas blared louder than ever as hosts South Africa scored a futile victory in their final match. Well, futile for them, not for the tournament - the 2-1 win has made life a tad easier albeit unpredictable for the top half of the draw, as the '06 finalists France were unceremoniously dumped out of the Cup. And from the way they played throughout, they deserved it. A host of familiar names - from Gallas and Evra to Malouda and Anelka - who ply their trade at top clubs across Europe looked out of sorts, burnt out and unmotivated. Ribery did show some sparks but was mostly consigned to a defensive midfield position. A far cry from the diverse squad of '98 that won the trophy at home. Djorkaeff, Desailly, Deschamps, Thuram, Blanc - 12 years down the line, those names still roll off the tongue. But Les Bleus weren't the only casualty - neither were they the biggest. Defending champions Italy were knocked out after they were shocked 3-2 by Slovakia in an exciting fixture. An over-aggressive (bullying and unethical, one might say) Azzurri tried very trick in the book to come back from two goals down, but offsides and a lack of quality finishers (no Baggio, Del Piero, Totti, Vieri or Inzaghi to come to their rescue) killed their fightback, even as they struggled in vain to plug gaping holes in their once famed defence. The other European powerhouses did scrape through, but only just - Oranje continued to be unimpressive vs. a very weak Cameroon side, while England and Germany did the bare minimum required of them against Slovenia and Ghana respectively, to set up a mouth-watering clash in the pre-quarter finals that will further reduce Europe's challenge. Then again, even though they are not quite playing upto the mark, only a fool would write them off at this stage. Speakers of the Romance language had a lot of excuses to spread the love. Even though Brazil and Portugal played out a stalemate in what was one of the biggest anticlimaxes in sport of late, both the Portuguese speaking nations advanced. The Samba boys will clash against their continental underdogs who beat them once in the qualifying - Chile, who had Switzerland's failure to convert even one of the 17 chances to thank; Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. will take on their Iberian neighbours in what promises to be yet another mouth-watering clash. Argentina became the first of two teams to have a perfect record, but the world is still waiting to see Lionel Messi finish. With Paraguay also doing enough, all 5 Latin American teams are through, 4 of which should make it into the quarters (2 of them face and should beat the Asian teams, another 2 face each other while the 5th should make it past Mexico). The World Cup might have come to Africa but Africa, it seems, failed to come to the World Cup. The host continent have lost 5 of its 6 contenders - Ghana were the only one who were not solely dependent on those one or two big names who are busy making big bucks in Europe the whole year, and have made their way into the final 16. On the other hand, the other traditionally weaker landmasses have fared better - both the co-hosts of '02 are still there and may spoil the South American party, and while both the teams from Down Under have been eliminated, they weren't really humbled, except for Oz's first match. The All Whites stayed undefeated, whereas the Socceroos held their own in spite of an older and weaker squad as compared to the last edition, and in spite of all those expulsions, and finished with a win. That's it for the three-part group stage recap - let's just hope that most of the upcoming matches are settled way before the shootouts. Up next, some observations about this World Cup as compared to the previous few editions. Till then, enjoy the Round of 16.

FIFA World Cup 2010: Shock & Draw

Kaushik Chatterji — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:14:49 EDT

(also read Part I here)

Just when everyone was convinced that most of the players had left their skills back in the locker rooms of their respective clubs, Spain took the field. Perennial under-performers on the biggest stage of 'em all, the team full of household big names from the choicest clubs of La Liga and other leading European leagues started off with an almost-complete display that was also, unlike many of their counterparts, clean. And yet, it was just that - an almost-complete display, and it cost them. Against the run of play, the Swiss got one into the back of the net, and we had the first of the shocks that have been hitting us with amazing regularity ever since.

Last edition's runners-up France started repeating their performance in '02 at Korea-Japan when they failed to take the defense of their '98 crown beyond the group stage by losing 2-0 to Mexico; Germany, coming from the back of a 4-0 annihilation of the Aussies, succumbed to a combination of poor refereeing (Klose was sent off after receiving a 2nd yellow after just about 30 minutes of play) and poorer finishing esp. by Podolski; Oranje failed to impress once more, and were lucky to win - the solitary goal came when Sneijder's attempt was grossly misjudged by the Japanese goalie; Italy had to come back from behind to draw level against lowly New Zealand (All Whites as opposed to their rugby union team) - they failed to score again, and hand to settle for a point. Latin America continued to impress, all 5 of their representatives recording wins. Higuain scored the first hat-trick of this World Cup as Maradona's boys beat the South Koreans 4-1, while Chile converted one of their twenty-odd chances against the Swiss. Their Iberian colonizers improved by leaps and bounds - Portugal took advantage of a hapless North Korean defense to put 6 past them in the 2nd half (plus 1 in the 1st), while La Roja who could have put at least 10 past Honduras had to settle for a solid 2-0 scoreline.

Africa's dreams were fading away real fast - the hosts were thrashed 3-0 by La Celeste courtesy Forlan. One Nigerian player brought shame upon the entire host continent - Kaita's unprovoked challenge after the ball had gone out of play meant that the 10 Super Eagles were unable to maintain their lead, ultimately losing 2-1; Algeria played out the most boring match of the tournament thus far vs. England (brief glimpses of creativity by Gareth Barry weren't enough); Cote D'Ivoire failed to pose a serious challenge to 5-time champs Brazil, Drogba's late goal and Kaka's unfair sending off coming too late in the day for them. Ghana could have become the first African nation to secure their place in the next round but were unable to take advantage of being a man-up against Australia. The men from Down Under were reduced to ten for the second match in a row - if it was Tim Cahill vs. the Germans, it was Harry Kewell this time who got a straight red for handling the ball on the goal line - and Group D's record of one expulsion per match was maintained. Among other matches, Slovenia failed to capitalize on their 2-0 half time and were lucky to escape with a point against the USA; atrocious defending and hilarious finishing meant that the Cameroon-Denmark match was one of the most entertaining of the tournament till then.

And just like that, we were 11 days into the tournament. Some had progressed, some had already booked their flights back home, but the fates of most of the others were undecided as on 21st June. The final round of group matches brought even more excitement and heartbreak - tune into part 3 of this recap series in a few hours' time, just in time for the knockouts.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 - A Sleeping Pill Called Jabulani?

Kaushik Chatterji — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:17:26 EDT

25 goals in 16 matches - a shade over 1.5 goals per match. That's how the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 started off, and all those of us who were eagerly waiting for our final semester engineering exams to get over just a couple of days before the action kicked off in Soccer City didn't know exactly how to react.

Tshabalala did the shakalaka for the hosts South Africa against the run of play in the opening match against Mexico, but what followed in the next 5 days was disappointing to say the least. 12 of them were low scoring affairs (0-0, 1-0 or 1-1) even though only one was goalless. The Koreans were on the receiving end in 2 of the remaining 4 - the South lost 2-0 to Greece; the North defended hard against perennial favourites Brazil but were unable to avert a 2-1 loss. The Dutch were expected to scintillate but were only able to do so on a select few occasions, more so in the second period of their opener against the Danes and ended up being 2-0 victors.

The highlights? Goal-to-goal periods in 3 of the 4 one-all draws; watching Messi, Tevez & Co. waiting to explode in the first period vs. Nigeria; the enthralling array of through passes and defence-splitting runs that the multi-ethnic and mostly young German bunch (Oezil and Muller are names that immediately spring to mind) came up with to rip apart the Socceroos 4-0. But was that because those guys were used to what everyone else was having a problem with? Jabulani, the official match ball, was tried out in Angola during the 2010 ANC as well as in the national leagues of USA and Argentina and also - it was alleged - Germany.

The skills on display were way below par, especially given the level of expectations of viewers fed on a diet of professional European leagues, and much of the blame was heaped upon the Jabulani. Its weight, shape, dimension, materials, structure, etc. all came in for criticism every time a direct free kick or a long distance shot went high over the crossbar, a corner got carried over the head of everybody in the penalty area and a long ball bounced right in front of the potential recipient, right over his head and out for a throw-in or a goal kick. England's Green and Algeria's Chaouchi, however, will tell you - and TV audiences the world over will agree - that no one suffered like the goalkeepers did. The former's mistake cost his team 2 points and him a place in the side; the latter's error meant that the African outsiders no longer had even that outside chance at making it into the knockouts.

Soon, though, the players settled down and adjusted themselves to the cold playing conditions, varying altitudes and a ball that seemingly had a mind of its own, and the results started undergoing a sea change. It all started with the last match of the first set of matches. Up next - shock & draw.

Viswanathan Anand Vs Sachin Tendulkar

Being Cynical — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:46:08 EDT

Both are sports icons of exceptional talent and perhaps one of the best their respective games has ever seen in history. One being the king of 64 squares while the other the sultan of 22 yards. One plays an indoor game most of the times in A/C rooms while other sweats it out in gigantic stadiums full with spectators. When there is almost no similarity between these two except both being true gentlemen and great ambassadors of the sports they play and carry the country up their sleeves every time they go out to perform, then what is that I am up to when I say Viswanathan Anand Vs Sachin Tendulkar?

Don't get me wrong. I am not here to compare their individual achievements or their contribution in making our country proud, as it is proven beyond doubt that both of them stand comparable to none when it comes to accomplishing the above mentioned attributes.

Somebody once told me- "when you see millions hooting for you and trillion hands eagerly waiting to pat your back for the smallest of your achievement, that's what brings the best out of you." Having said that, I read somewhere that a true fighter didn't necessarily fights for rewards or recognitions. Think of Tendulkar. Whenever he goes out to bat he carries that billion plus revolving eyes with him. A huge pressure one must admit. But the reward is even equally huge. Every cover drive of him is cheered as if all hell has broken lose. The fans don't even think twice to give their office a skip to see this little man bat. If that's not enough few even take that huge risk of annoying their wives by watching the highlights all over again. Ekta Kapoor can go for a walk so as fuming wife. Interestingly fans doesn't necessarily stop at the highlights. Many take that extra burden to follow the master and his activities even if he is not playing. Sundry like when he started practicing at which local ground of Mumbai, where he was last seen with his family for shopping, which is the last car that's been just drove into his garage and a whole lot of other things.

Love for the little master doesn't end here. Some dedicated fans have erected a temple and tout him close to being a God. The latest dedication of a Mango in the name of Sachin speaks volume about the love and respect this man carries on individual heart. Won't you think, this is enough of pedigree for anyone to perform like Sachin do, if not more?

Here comes Viswanathan as brilliant performer as he used to be some 15 years back carrying the national pride up his shoulders, if not a billion plus hope. His performance needs no introduction as it is evident from his fourth world championship title on the day our cricket team literally being kicked out of a global event. Honestly, even if his performance and accomplishments doesn't need any introduction, unfortunately he himself does. A person who is the sole flag bearer of our country in this segment for close to couple of decades, being there at the top three for last decade or so, crowned world champion for the fourth time and let me not list out all other international events he has won, needs introduction is definitely represents the sorry state of affairs of our sporting knowledge. Terming it unfortunate is actually a very light statement to define this.

None seems interested for this gentleman's performance, not even our media who would write a full page if our cricket team somehow manages to squeeze into the semifinal of some event. None seems hooting when Viswanathan does a Queen's gambit. Nobody cheers out full throat when Viswanathan formulates a Sicilian defence to negate the threat from the likes of Kasparov or Kramnik. Still this guy continue to perform and perform at the highest level, if you want to believe even better than Sachin. Viswanathan doesn't expect a mango getting dedicated to his name let alone someone erecting a temple somewhere in Tamilnad. As a true fighter doesn't eye for rewards, this guy keeps on performing so that we can keep our heads high as Indians. He doesn't carry a billion hope but always makes sure that the billion back home does have a smile and proud feeling when he is done with his job, unlike our cricket team which carry a billion hope but doesn't bother or care to bring smile on the face of a single soul even.

Defying all odds to bring glory to the nation is a rare attribute that I associate Vishy with but honestly can't say the same for Sachin. When Sachin did exceptionally well in IPL, all thought the little master would change his decision and would return back to the T20 team flying to the Caribbeans. Hopes riped further when Shewag got injured at the nick of time, all thought now it has to be Sachin. But the little master had other ideas. He stood firm to his decision and said no to join the team. Just wondering, if he can play IPL whole through, can't he spare couple of weeks for the national team, the game, the billion plus fans who have given him the stature of God? Now look at Vishy. In the game of chess at the highest level, having black pieces is a huge back foot even before you move your first pawn. With black, the best you can expect is a draw. Faced with this setback when Vishy appeared for the 12th game with scores at level many might not have fancied Viswanathan winning it. But when the prestige of the nation is at stake, it brings the best out of a patriot. There comes Viswanathan with all his guns blazing and thrashing the opponent out of the way, eventually winning with black pieces. Not to mention his heroics did saw our tri colour flaying high on the soil of Bulgaria. Viswanathan could have chosen his comfort like Sachin and could have easily settled for a draw. This is what I say defying odds to see your nation stay proud.

For the first time I saw his fourth world championship title was at the front page. Thanks to Dhoni and team getting snubbed out on the same day or else our newspapers would have filled with the news of we entering semifinal and Viswanathan could have gone for a walk. Sachin's 200 takes the front page but Vishy's Minz title even struggles to find some place in page 15. Even if both these gentlemen are second to none when it comes to achievements, given any day I would rate Vishwanathan a notch higher than Sachin, if somebody asks me to name the better sportsman among these two. No offense intended, as I am as big a fan of Sachin as anyone is.

For my other articles visit my blog page http://shortofmatch.blogspot.com

England Wins the ICC T20 World Cup 2010

Lomi — Mon, 17 May 2010 07:22:46 EDT

Yes! Finally the English Team has won the world Cup. It took 35 Years and 18 attempts to get this far. No other team has taken it thus far. Even Sri Lanka, (a team considered to be minnows like Bangladesh is now in 1979 WC) won their first World cup in 17 Years and just their 5th attempt. Therefore this has got to be the longest test that any national fan could have for a team. The fact that it has come on the brink of so many South Africans playing for England should not take any sheen out of the triumph. After all they did undergo the normal process to get this far.

The tournament itself was the most clinical triumph seen from a a cricket team excepting Australia. No cricket team has won a world cup with so much domination except Australia in recent past. The two standout performers were Kieswetter and Petersen. Petersen being a star performer and a batting stalwart, he was expected to deliver but Kieswetter was a complete novice at least as far as international audience is concerned. To deliver in such a big tournament and in such a big stage (WC Final) speaks volumes on his abilities and promise that he holds in future for England. Another one man who needs special mention is Graham Swann, England have always been known for the pacemen or swing bowlers that you rarely get to see an attacking spinner come from English soil. It is perhaps for first time in my memory that I have seen England unearth a really talented and definitely the most promising spinner that England has ever had. In fact he is arguably the best spinner presently in International circuit on current form (with all due respects to Murali, Vettori and Harbhajan).

England lost only one match in this tournament but that too only due to Duckworth Lewis method otherwise they have been very clinical right from the start. Special mention should also be made of their final match. The way they played it so professionally and not even once letting Australia to claw their way back into the match was very refreshing to see for a neutral fan. This was exactly the need of the hour for a cricket fan to see some healthy competition developing between the rival teams and more importantly to see English team showing more interest towards shorter formats. English teams in past have always had tendency to ignore shorter versions of the game)

All the English fans should be rejoicing this victory and hoping for a similar triumph in the purer version of the game when the Ashes start later this year. I think this is a very good platform for England to defend their Ashes and to win a series in Australia after around 20 odd years. English team have all the firepower in all the departments of the game for winning Ashes series in Aussie soil and perhaps for first time in a very long time would start as favourites for the series. I sign off wishing England All the Best for Ashes.

Lalit Modi's Effect on Cricket

Devendra Sharma — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:32:53 EDT

With so much of noise made by the media, politicians, bureaucrats, sports officials and other cynics I list out the facts of the matter. First, it is necessary to see the people involved directly or indirectly with IPL, I listed out several stakeholders and found that all of them fell in the category of being a beneficiary, each group made some or the other monetary gain or was given more value for their money’s worth. With no one losing any money, why this is termed as a scam?

Indian Premier League (IPL) beneficiaries

Cricketers: Present / Ex Cricketers, with or without International experience have got opportunity to earn money which they could not have imagined in their dreams – youngsters have earned cricketing experience and rub shoulders with International Greats which was not possible ahead of IPL. The opportunity of fostering relations with players of different nations who always were seen as adversaries, more than friends or compatriots, gaining by cross experiences on and off the field.

Officials / Support Staff: The new format of T20 cricket in IPL has entailed each team to have an entourage of support staff, thereby giving an opportunity to technical/specialised sports officials to get employed and enhance their own careers. The umpires / referees / curators /press persons/technicians all have been given a fresh source of steady income through IPL.

State Cricket Associations: Organising the matches in different venues, several new infrastructural developments have taken place the qualities of the stadia have improved immensely plus a new stream of revenue for these earlier beleaguered associations has suddenly surfaced making them more self reliant and independent.

Cricket Lovers/Fans : The entertainment value that IPL has created is preposterous, the Indian / international fans were in a frenzy during all the three editions. The ones who went to the grounds (India & SA) got more than value for money and those who enjoyed on TV became addicted to this cricket show. The viewership across the globe was phenomenal.
Sponsors: With millions of eyeballs, maybe IPL has been the best return on money for the sponsors.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI): The brand equity of the IPL and monetisation of the brand has filled the coffers of BCCI to the brim; there are more resources to spend on the promotion of the game.

Franchisee: The valuation of the franchise has seen a quantum jump beyond the imagination of the stakeholders. With the opening of the option of transfers/player auction to and from gives fresh opportunity to them to realign their financial benefits for better.

Government of India: The tax revenue from IPL has been growing exponentially for the GOI.

OTHERS: The other beneficiaries include the Logistic partners, Small businesses, Cricket merchandise dealers, event managers, caterers, hoteliers, airlines, internet service providers, domain sellers, online service providers and other general employee of various agencies involved in the putting up of the shows, press reporters, channel photographers & staff and not forgetting the beneficiaries of various social organisations whom donations etc. have been passed on.

BOOST TO INTERNATIONAL IMAGE OF INDIA AND INDIANS: For once India has been on the world stage in terms of any sport, it is now envied and keenly followed by other nations. For the first time we have been shown respect as well as utmost regard by almost all the cricket playing nations including the bigwigs like Australia and England. There was a time when Indian cricketers of highest order used to line up to get entry into professional cricket scene of England County League and if admitted used to feel proud to be able to make ranks there. Now the matters have seen absolute reversal with the foreign players vying to get into IPL. What a transformation of the national image of India, that was once dubbed by elite cricket nations as the “land of poor”.

SO THE QUESTION IS, WHEN EVERY BODY HAS BEEN BENFITTED MONETARILY NO ONE HAS LOST MONEY, THEN HOW OR WHY IS IT CALLED AS A “SCAM”? The cynics are saying that the dealings have not been transparent, but the question is who is 100% transparent in business, for that matter ANY Business there are several issues that always go impromptu and unaudited.

So, why so much of noise over the business of IPL?

Instead of commending Mr Lalit Modi who, in his own right, deserves high national/international accolades, if not “Padmashree”, then at least by some words of praise by the National and Political Heads. But on the contrary he is called a cheat, liar, fraudster and whatnot. The simple reason for all the drama is that he is too intelligent, too smart, too farsighted, too dedicated, too hard working, too efficient and too shrewd than the whole bunch of nit-wits in all sports bodies (including BCCI) put together. Now that the IPL is well established, every fox, jackal, vulture and dog wants to devour the leftover of the big kill made by this king.

My contention with all the analysis is that every cricket lover of India and every beneficiary of the IPL brand should vouch for this maverick man called L K Modi who has made a reality of the dream called IPL. If we mention Infosys, Wipro, Reliance, Tata, Birla, etc. for bringing kudos to the economy of the country and Tendulkars, Kapil Dev, Sania, Padukone, Amritraj bringing laurels in sports and Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh, Shahrukh, Rehaman for doing the same in field of art & entertainment then we must bow and take hats off to this person called Lalit Modi to have been able to bind all the three aspects of sport, entertainment and business acumen by making one of the biggest contribution in post independence history of our country.
(The views expressed by the author are solely his personal views and may not be deemed as having any linkage to any other organisation, corporation, employer or sovereign.)

IPL 3: Chennai Super Kings Out-class Mumbai Indians

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:43:48 EDT

The Indian Premier League will be remembered as much for exciting on-field action as for the off-field shenanigans and tweets. The finals of the third IPL season were great cricket at the very least, even as BCCI officials waited with suspension orders for IPL Commissioner Lalit K Modi ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting tomorrow.

The teams were evenly matched, and featuring icons like MS Dhoni on one hand and Sachin Tendulkar on the other, had a large swathe of Indian cricket fans cheering for both sides. The opening ceremony had a Bollywood theme eventThe Chennai Super Kings won the toss and chose to bat first, sending in M Vijay and Matthew Hayden. Their partnership lasted till the 7th over, and saw numerous LBW appeals. The middle overs were steady, the run rate staying between 6 and 7 for the most part, and CSK were 108/3 after 15 overs. The final 5 overs saw some inspired batting (and inept fielding from MI), netting CSK 60 runs, and wrapping up their inning at a redoubtable 168/5, the highest score in an IPL final thus far.

Sachin Tendulkar, who had decided to play in the final, despite his injured hand, opened the inning for the Mumbai Indians, along with Shikhar Dhawan, who didn't last long, being caught in the second over, still at a zero. Abhishek Nayar stuck it out longer, making for a 44-run partnership, but Bhajji couldn't last, going just after Nayar in the 11th over. Sachin Tendulkar had a narrow escape in the 13th, falling in the 14th at 48, with Mumbai Indians at 99/4, and a required run rate of over 12. His near-dismissal garnered the nickname 'The Hand of God' almost immediately on Twitter, and one expected that to have been called, but there's no telling the game on the field.

The Mumbai Indians were not able to make up the run rate and the Chennai Super Kings' superlative fielding, notably from Raina, made the difference. There was a brief glimmer of hope when Pollard came in after Duminy's exit, perhaps a little too late in the innings. He opened with a mammoth 22 run over against Bollinger, including a 107+ m sixer, perhaps 'too little, too late'. MI now needed 33 off the last 12 balls, with CSK sending in Albie Morkel. The 19th over saw a breathless run-out with Rayudu sacrificing his wicket in an attempt to keep Pollard on strike. It was all in vain, unfortunately with Pollard being caught by Mathew Hayden off the next ball.

The final over of the IPL final had an inevitability to it, both for the MI and for @LalitKModi, with Mumbai Indians losing the game at a final score of 146, losing by 22 runs. It remains to be seen what would be the fate of the grand IPL Commissioner, even if he had brought some mighty good cricket to the Indian playing fields.

Grapes Unfit For Wine

karachi khatmal — Fri, 9 Apr 2010 23:16:16 EDT

Almost every middle class sub-conti, or desi, has relatives who live abroad. When they return, it is a source of great excitement and upheaval. There is the obvious business of the chocolates and gifts they might bring, and the consequences of relinquishing bedrooms for the cousins. And when they arrive, the elders rejoice and revel in nostalgia, while their kids, returning to the 'homeland' for the first time, are often mute, shy shocked. But then they go to the bathroom, and they finally become animated. That moment is the exact point when they realise that instead of tissues, they would be dealing with lotas. in essence, that is when the reality of the new situation hits in.

Tn many ways, that has been the global reaction to the IPL so far. there are entire legions of servers that are groaning under the weight of anti-IPL drivel being posted on the interweb on a daily basis. and so little of it is about cricket.

The gripes revolve around the shameless advertising, the crass commercialization, the hype and the hoopla. the reason there has been such an uncomfortable response is that like our foreign cousins, the rest of the cricket watching world is being introduced to the lota for the firs time. Only they are not getting it.

For those of us living here, cricket has long been shown in this way. the constant cuts to ad breaks, those annoying adverts that come on during the telecast on three quarters or half the screen, the crawling texts, the bouncing corporate logos when wickets fall etc etc.

While some may hate the fact that commentators keep repeating contrived phrases like DLF maximums and Karbon Kamal Katches, it is still a huge improvement in many ways. at least now they have a sentence they know how to phrase. listening to the likes of L sivaramakrisnan, aamir sohail, russel arnold, rameez raja, sikandar bakht, arun lal etc was just as nauseating, and they had even worse cliches than the citi moment of success.

The point is - there is a lot more going on that all the bitching and moaning is drowning out. there are oodles of world class players, there is a lot of context within the inter-personal battles, and there is great entertainment to be had. think about peitersen playing with all the saffers he left behind, sehwag being fozed by kumble, sachin getting another chance to captain and single-handedly carry a team etc. Plus, with all great entertainment, folks like fake IPL player and the eyepeeyell tweeter are around to rip apart all the BS and the pomposity.

So for everyone's sake, accept the lota and get on with life. as any desi would tell you, adjusting to only using tissue papers is quite a disconcerting experience as well, but you're not hearing us complaining.