The IPL Spectacle
A slightly edited version of this appeared in my piece for Yahoo! Cricket's 'Featured Friday' column.As IPL-3 winds down to its conclusion and the ICC World Twenty20 tournament approaches, one does wonder the point of this whole month and a half excursion in the first place; I mean, wouldn't we know the World Champion IPL Team of the WorldTM on the 25th? This whole idea of playing another tournament half way across the globe (from India, that is) has confounded me. Who wants to hear the commentator exult ‘SIX!’ when we're used to DLF Maximums? And who wants to watch teams with names like Afghanistan when we're used to Knight Riders? I don't. Which is why, tired of stealing glances at Cricinfo scorecards and hunting for grainy streams during weekends, I decided to time my three-week vacation in the midst of the IPL. [Members of my family would argue that it was attending a cousin's wedding, which made my trip possible. But the rest of the world knows that any man would give his right leg to be in India during the IPL season.] And what a spectacle it was! It was like watching reruns of 90210; but live. The most amazing part of it was being able to see the IPL merely by switching on the telly. I didn't even have to hunt for the channel; flip any random channel and it was on. Unbelievable! And if it weren't for Mr. Lalit Modi's brilliance, this wouldn't have been possible. His tweets were like Easter eggs. An example [I paraphrase]: "Another amazing innovation. For the first time ever anyone has teamed up with such-and-such company for mobile videos." I thought, wow, now people can catch IPL scores exclusively on their mobiles. While I've been aware of "DLF Maximums" from IPL-1, I’ve always felt they never made full use of the entire gamut cricket, as a sport, presents. I've read countless articles mocking its use -- calling it cheap 'product placement' -- and in some more reasoned arguments suggesting they brand fours too. But even these constructive criticisms have failed to give solid solutions. So I will give one right now.If sixes are DLF Maximums, fours should be DLF Deluxe; three runs DLF Economy; two runs DLF Medium; one run DLF Lite and a dot ball, DLF Minimum. But I will stop at DLF Medium because branding singles and dot balls will be a bit crass. It's astonishing that this idea hasn't caught a sponsor like DLF's fancy [they could package floor plans to their flats/houses this way] or someone of the business acumen of Mr. Modi himself. The in-between-balls cut-aways to advertising, on what was supposed to look like sight-screens, was a brilliant concept. It presented a narrative parallel to the cricket itself. Like, we all now know that Gambhir and Sehwag like to play this game where they lay on the grass and play fetch-the-bone with a mobile phone when it rings. They seemed to have a nice time. And when there's tension in the midst of an over, this sort of a cut-away is like a story arc -- but with an open end. More stories like this in the next edition will only enrich the experience. And finally, the cricket: well, what do I say? I am trying to think of one thing that stood out here. Ah yes! Sanjay Dutt -- in that fantastic red contraption-costume-thing -- thought this Tiwary chap, who plays for Mumbai Indians, was a handy bat. He said it in an interview during one of the Extraa Innings shows. Alas, I couldn't find out what happened to Ranbir Kapoor. Did the junta help him answer all the questions? Did Sanjay Dutt crush him with all his might? I wouldn't know because I had to get back to the States, and rely on scores and grainy streams. But yes, why should I bother tuning into this World Twenty20 after all this excitement? Do tell. I dare you.
