Indian Premier League (IPL) has started with great fervor. A marriage between cricket and entertainment, so we are told. A total of 27 odd matches have been played so far, with points tally changing every single day. Hitherto, SRK's KKR are yet to fire, Royals are royally marching forward and Preity's boys are as dead as dodos.
This year, I am yet to see some close finishes, apart from one super over between Punjab and CSK. Most of the matches have been one sided with teams either giving up their chases midway or failing to start strongly. Star players are not performing except for Sachin, but then Sachin is exceptional. Local boys though have been sticking up to the challenge and coming up with brave performances. Ohja's and Narwal's are performing at crucial situations and proving why do they deserve to be a part of a winning combination. Mumbai Indians are looking exceptionally strong on paper as well as on field and are comfortably placed under SRT's leadership. Bangaluru on the other hand have worked hard and players like Uthapa and Virat Kohli are finally proving their worth in the team, rather then just showing off their uber-coolness. Punjab has been on the receiving end, missing out on half chances and keeping it untidy on the field. They are real strong on paper but their top order has failed to gather runs and with their captain out of form it has been a quite an uphill task for them. In order to qualify for the semis they need to win all of their remaining seven games. Delhi's performance has been top notch with Sehwag's fiery form and other openers blasting out early in the middle.
Now the gamechanger this year has been the astronomical moolah that Modi has been able to rake in with the brand IPL. Apart from selling air waves, ground and sky advertising (the MRF blimp generates 15 crores for 24 matches for the IPL), Modi has plans on tapping mobile internet once 3G rolls out in India. IPL has already forayed into the online space by striking a deal with youtube to broadcast live matches. Franchises have catapulted themselves into solid investment vehicles- SRK's KKR valued at $46 million, Rajasthan Royals at $45.2 million, for example have shown the might of brand IPL over actual team strengths. Royals do not have any major player and the plight of Knight Riders has been SRK's knightmare for the past two years. KKR has been in doldrums, but SRK has been a smart investor with his team gaining as much as 5 times its original value. Two new franchises become a part of IPL this year. Being purchased at a whopping price of $700 million, their inclusion clearly foretells how much sick this thing is going to get in the future.
IPL has also transformed the summer in India. It has aptly captured the imagination of an adolescent nation in awe of cricket, beauty and bollywood. The after game parties are televised with some serious FTV mixed journalism, catwalk and dancing. With celebrities doing frequent rounds on TV, Yuvraj getting huggs from Preity, Modi posing with Bipasha and Sushmita as a casual bystander, Bhajji rocking the night with his latest girlfriend, and old boys like Warne and Symonds ogling at younger firang models (haven't seen a lot of desi action on ramp, I wonder why in all the IPL parties only firangis get to bump and grind whereas Yusuf Pathan and Jhunjhunwala always share a casual smile), IPL has much more to offer then plain T20 cricket. Its a glorious congregation of who's who of Bollywood, cricket and dancing cheerleaders with sport broadcasting reaching styles from beyond.
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