Sizzling start to IPL 2024 as expected

Barely into its second week, IPL 2024 has whetted the appetite of its delirious fans who would now want more and more of such high-octane action. A game played under the unforgiving gaze of its followers, IPL has often seen charged-up scenes, right through the many week tenure it has been watched and enjoyed by crores of cricket lovers, season after season.

On March 22, this year’s proceedings began with the much-awaited clash between last year winners Chennai Super Kings and the eternal pretenders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, who regularly dashed the hopes of its supporters year after year since the League began in 2008. What was noticeable in this match which the latter lost was how M S Dhoni smoothly ensured the passage of captaincy to the young Turk, Ruturaj Gaikwad. If this was one of the noticeable highlights as the first of the 74 League matches rolled out, very soon one witnessed another disconcerting sight. One of Indian team’s much-loved cricketers, Hardik Pandya, who has been noted for his fierce display of batting aggression and a track record of having won the tournament a few years ago for his team Gujarat Titans, was found wanting in form and also audience support, who did not take kindly to his switch-over and subsequent ascension as captain of the Mumbai Indians team. So much so, he earned the dubious distinction of having been the first desi player to be booed in India, at his own home ground in Ahmedabad!

These were contentious issues, which brought out so many aspects of perception and club loyalties which the cricket watching public seem to be nurturing. In this milieu, one saw the perennial underdog, Sun Risers Hyderabad, suddenly spring to awesome form, smash the highest-ever total of the tournament and humble many-time Cup-winners Mumbai Indians in their home ground at Hyderabad.

Carefully scheduled in a manner which ensured no interference with the ensuing parliamentary elections from April 19, the IPL was the summer entertainment which many were craving for. With many gaming apps launched to feed into the frenzy raised by the performances of big names in each of the teams, IPL was often suspected of not being above board, a charge which has not been proved conclusively.

Even then, the price that the League places on performers and impact players whose only role seems to be to make a splash in every match they are featured in, all of it adds up to an endless pyrotechnics, for the 40 overs it is watched for.

One of the top players of Indian cricket, R Ashwin has already said that he wonders whether IPL is actually cricket or something else. Given that, he is also a player in the tournament, whose spin skills would be put to severe test by record-hunting batters, it would be interesting to see how he retains his composure and talent in prising out wickets of the opposing teams during the League playoffs.

At the macro level, IPL is now at a level which is only the envy of other League formats which other countries have been adapting to play in their respective countries. Its brand value, the popularity and the humongous amounts of money which the lucky few earn over seasons has made it the ultimate in quickfire entertainment for many in the world. Puritans will still complain however…