Category: Cricket

It’s 8 pm. The IPL daily soap opera is about to start- it’s become a ritual now. It started as the pyjama version of cricket no one cared for. But the India 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, master -minded by MS Dhoni, changed it all. The world is governed by the rich and IPL is where the money is. IPL has transformed the way cricket is played and enjoyed.

As I switched on the TV channel, I saw the ‘ten years of IPL’ TV jingle. Just seems the other day, but yes, 10 years have passed by. I start reminiscing and thinking about the ten moments which best describe the IPL journey. So here you go…

The first one was the very first match of Season 1. Bangalore vs Kolkata at the Chinnaswamy. Jammy and Dada went for the toss that day but what everyone remembers is the brutal hitting of a certain Knight Rider which stunned the world- Brendon McCullum. Savour the statistics- Baz scored 158 not out. You would have been happy with that score in an ODI- well, he got it all in a 20 over match. He scored more than 70% of KKR’s score and alone beat RCB by 76 runs! 13 sixes and ten fours set the ball rolling and SRK couldn’t stop dancing!

The other memorable moment from IPL-1 was the motley crowd from Rajasthan Royal coming together under the magician- Shane Warne. Rajasthan were the pure underdogs- least favoured and not tipped to even reach the semi-finals. But Warne was the ‘Pied Piper‘ who helped them scale Mount Everest- making beasts out of seemingly average players like Shane Watson (the MVP), Sohail Tanvir (the Highest Wicket Taker), Yusuf Pathan (the Brutal Hitter). Each player had a specific role in the RR team and they performed to the brief and how! One hurdle after another they crossed, and finally won with a last ball win vs CSK in the finals.

The next one is from IPL 3 in 2010. CSK were the most consistent teams led by ‘Captain Cool‘– Dhoni. They finished runners up in the first season and were a semifinalist in Season 2. They were struggling to reach the semifinals in Season 3 and had a do-or-die match vs Kings XI in the picturesque Dharamsala ground. It boiled down to MSD facing up to Irfan Pathan with CSK needing 16 runs in the last over to win. What followed was 4,2,6,6. The last six was out of the world- the ball kept rising as it left the stadium- sealing the legend of MSD the finisher. MSD punched himself like a cornered boxer as CSK completed a famous win. CSK would go on to win that year and the year after.

IPL is always thought of as a batsman’s game but there are a few star bowlers who have made a big difference. None bigger than Lasith Malinga– ‘Slinga’ with his side arm slingy action, has been a constant source of delight for Mumbai Indian supporters. His yorkers are impossible to score of in the slog overs and the disguised slower ones well camouflaged in between the toe crushers. None more so than in Season 4, when Delhi Daredevils did not know what hit them- Malinga was on song that day and finished with 5/13- Mumbai winning with lots to spare.

The next one is from Season 5. My team KKR had performed abysmally in the first few seasons and re-done the entire set up with Gambhir at the helm. No one gave them a chance when two time winners CSK got to 190 in the final at their home ground at the Chepauk. What followed in the chase was shock and awe. Manvinder Bisla, a journey-man in the company of the ‘Mr. Reliable‘ Kallis, started scoring at ten an over to keep up with the asking run rate. Bisla kept taking risks and hitting in the air and would go on to score an invaluable 89. With the last over starting, KKR still needed 11 and it was anybody’s game. But Manoj Tiwary hit the two most important fours he will ever hit as KKR did it. It was a famous win, when the Kings were reined in at their home ground and the ‘City of Joy’ celebrated unabashedly.

IPL is all about brutal hitting and there is no one better than the ‘Universe Boss’– Chris Gayle. After having mediocre seasons with KKR, and initially going unsold in the auctions, Gayle moved to RCB in Season 4. What a buy this was for Vijay Mallya! Gayle has been the face of RCB and IPL and has regaled us all with his murderous batting. None more so than in Season 6 vs Pune. Even the ‘Boss’ went on over-drive that day. A hundred in 30 balls, highest ever individual score of 175* and a small matter of 17 sixes- Gayle took the world by storm.

IPL is also about nail biting finishes- most matches go right down to the wire. None better than a close one in Season 6- CSK played RCB and Jadeja needed two to win facing up to RP Singh. Amma Chennai prayed and hoped! As RP roared in, Jaddu swung hard- it took an almighty edge and went all the way to third-man for a catch. Kohli roared and RCB had won by a run. Or, did they? In a Lagaan type sequence of events, no one realized that RP had overstepped and the umpire had signaled a no ball. So, Sir Jadeja had got out of the last ball but still managed to win the match for his team- talk of nail biting finishes and comedy!

The next one is another Purple moment- the Knight Riders had turned around from strugglers in the first three seasons to a top team under Gambhir. In Season 7, they banked on the mystery spinner Sunil Narine to bamboozle all and sundry. The final vs Kings XI started with KKR as strong favourites. But Kings XI had a plan of their own. Led by Wriddhiman Saha’s 115, Kings set KKR a humongous 200 as a target. Not much of a chance for KKR. But ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man‘. Manish Pandey was the knight who stepped up- a masterful 94 with sixes at the right moments took us to the doorsteps of victory, and when Piyush Chawla hit the winning runs, Kolkata went wild again.

IPL is also about superb fielding- gone are the days where poor fielders are hidden. Close finishes mean that every run is crucial. And there has been an advent of super-human catches. Chris Lynn has set IPL 10 alive with great pinch hitting but what gave him identity was the out-of-the-world catch he took off ABD in Bangalore when RCB was knocking on victory’s door. ABD heaved when a six would have won it. Lynn at deep square leg slipped, and everyone thought that it would be a six. But he kept his eyes on the ball and jumped up to take a memorable catch, at the same time keeping his balance to ensure that he didn’t go out of the boundary ropes. A nail biting win through a wondrous catch- that’s IPL.

IPL is also such a fast game that consistency is impossible. You score some, you get out at times- as you try to up the pace. Right? Not everyone, Kohli in Season 9, was at a different level. After a poor start by RCB, Kohli upped his game to a different stratosphere- four centuries, almost 1000 runs and an average close to 100- Don Kohli bettered the ‘Law of Averages’. Sad that he couldn’t put the finishing touch as RCB faltered in the finals, losing to Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Rip roaring batting, inspirational captaincy, nail biting finishes, super human catches, toe crushing yorkers and memorable finals- the IPL has seen it all. But what it has done even better is to unite India for two months of the year and becoming India’s most enjoyable soap opera.

No wonder it’s our favourite fruit (after mango) in the summer season.

Ye dus saal aapke naam!

It’s 3:15 am… Neymar has just chipped a long ball to Sergio Roberto and his deft touch has just capped the biggest comeback of the generation at the Nou Camp. Five goals needed when the match started, three needed after the 87^th minute, and the Catalans still win. Impossible is nothing! So as I listen to one of my favourite Floyd songs, the topic for my first blog takes shape- the glorious world of comebacks. Those moments we always remember like “Where was I when……?”

So, which do you consider the most glorious comeback in sports history?

There have been a few off late….My friends in the US tell me that it’s the NFL finals this year when Brady master minded a win for the Patriots from a 25 point deficit. And RF devotees claim that No 18 takes the cherry- when Fedex triumphed coming back from an injury lay-off when no one gave him a chance for #18 at Melbourne.

The Red Devils (Oh how I hate them!) tell me it’s Fergie’s army in the ’99 Champions League final when two super-subs scripted history vs Bayern. But their arch rivals (the Kops) remind them that 0-3 is more difficult to start from and they point to the amazing turnaround vs Milan at #Istanbul2005.

There were a few from another generation too… Kapil single handedly winning India the match from 17/5 vs Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells- to stopping Viv and his team’s swagger when no one gave them a chance after scoring 183 in the ’83 final. The ‘Black Panther’ Eusebio- rallying the Portuguese from 0-3 down with four goals, to finally triumph over the upstart North Koreans in the 1966 World Cup. The dogged Germans in 1954- losing 3-8 to the Golden Team from Hungary in the groups and trailing 0-2 in the finals before overcoming Puskas & co. with the well-known German grit. And then there was the peerless Ali outpunching Foreman against all odds in the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Kinshasa.

But my mind goes back to one balmy morning in March 2001. It’s the start of the 4^th day’s play at Eden Gardens vs the all-conquering Aussies- they are on a 16 match winning run. The current Indians are struggling to sew up the series vs Smith & co. The Aussie team in 2001 had 11 Smith’s- and better. They were ‘Team invincible’- India being considered the final frontier for the ‘Alexanderesque’ Steveda. Gilchrist had not drawn, let aside lost a match since making his test debut. This promised to be another jog in the park.

India still trail by 20 runs with just six wickets remaining. Plans have already been made for a Park Street lunch with friends assuming that it will be an early finish. But we start fighting. The new ball is blunted. Scores level! And then Laxman starts flicking Warne against the spin to mid-wicket. Steve Waugh is getting flustered. Lead crosses 50,….75. He brings on Ponting’s part time medium pace before lunch to see if he benefit from the batsmen’s overconfidence. There’s a close LBW shout- pin drop silence among the crowd and then a huge sigh of relief. We reach lunch around 100 runs ahead. Meanwhile, the superstitious Bong crowd is at their best- they don’t let anyone leave their seats as staying put will mean Lax and Dravid also staying!

Lax starts the second session with a ‘silk smooth’ boundary and the belief is growing. Laxman has replaced Azhar as the God of Eden- not just with his wristy flicks and cover drives but also thanks to his demonic record at the Mecca of cricket. And Jammy plays along- the two create sweet symphony as they go on and on. Aussies are playing with 11, but India batting with one lakh and two players in the middle and the crowd egg the batsmen on. Every break is greeted by a four of the first ball of the new session. Laxman is doing a Mozart- you don’t know what’s happening and very soon the Aussies also start appreciating his strokes. And Dravid, gritty as always, plays the perfect second fiddle. Lead mounts 150, 200. It’s all a blur now. And nothing can separate the two. Not even cramps, dehydration. Lax and Dravid go on, and on, and end the day unbeaten, with India 315 ahead. Who would have thought at the start of the day? The Park Street lunch has to wait… And we go on to complete the most famous comeback wins with seven wickets in the last session on Day 5.

It happened 16 years back, but seems like just the other day. At the Garden of Eden, cheering on Dada’s Army, to the best comeback win of all times. So all you nouveau sports lovers- you saw a few good sporting comebacks. But nay, this is nothing compared to that balmy day in 2001.

So the impossible becomes ‘I’m possible’. And Floyd’s ‘Coming Back to Life’ draws to a close too… Hang on for the next song in the playlist.

Cheers!