Remember the Royals

On 1st of June, 2008, the world witnessed the culmination of the 44-day cricketing extravaganza named IPL. After two unexpectedly dull and one-sided semi finals, the law of averages promised a tighter finish in the final. And so it was! Being a Chennai Super Kings supporter (more appropriately, a Dhoni fan), I was desperately hoping for a verdict in favour of the men in yellow. The absence of Graeme Smith, their experienced, influential and in-form opener, had raised expectations. Yet, as Sohail Tanvir pushed the ball into the gap and took the deciding single of the last ball to trigger huge celebrations in the Rajasthan Royals camp, I could not stop myself from applauding for the deservingly victorious team.

As Shane Warne and his men received the glittering trophy, for a moment, I felt as if I was watching a movie. Have we not seen it all before on the silver screen? A team rated as “under-dog”, triumphs against all odds, and becomes the champion- doesn’t this script sound very familiar? Let me site a few examples: a determined ‘black’ coach called Herman Boone inspires his young team to get rid of racism issues and win the American football championship-Remember the titans(based on true events ); a tainted player Kabir Khan (read Mir Ranjan Negi) redeems himself as he manages a bunch of hockey wielding ladies to a World Cup triumph-Chak de India; and above all, the story of a group of peasants, led by some “Bhuwan”, playing a game of cricket against the british to relieve themselves from the burden of “Lagaan”. The list is certainly not exhaustive and one may suggest many more such instances, both fictional and true, which narrate and celebrate the success of the underdog. The story of the rise and rise of Rajasthan Royals has been no different from the mentioned tales of success and glory. The characters and the events might have been different, but the script has invariably been the same.

The happy ending is always preceded by a set of challenges that one must overcome to be the winner. To start off, the players need to come together as a team. It is perhaps the most difficult task as regional, racist and personal issues can split the team into individual camps. Someone needs to be the guardian, the ‘gunda’ of the team, and it is usually the responsibility of the captain and the coach. In case of Mr. Warne, he was the captain/coach/player/mentor - the onus of nurturing the team was entirely on his shoulders. I am sure the presence of an international captain in Graeme Smith would have certainly helped him. Nevertheless, he deserves all the credit for moulding a group of eager individuals into a unit, and extracting the best out of them.

However, as one has often seen, even the most successful campaigns start with a false step. So while, Kabir Khan’s ladies were thrashed 7-0 in their first match in Chak de…, Warne’s boys were convincingly beaten by 9 wickets in their first encounter. It gave the critics another opportunity to have a go at the Royals. What the team needed at that point in time was a tonic of victory, which they achieved against Kings XI Punjab in their next match. But, the turning point in my opinion was the win against Deccan Chargers, where the team successfully chased a stiff total of 214. Yusuf Pathan’s blistering knock, followed by their captain’s heroics in the last over gave them the much-needed dosage of self-belief and confidence. From there on, things started falling perfectly in place. Suddenly, a team devoid of any big names became the talk of the tournament. Swapnil Asnodkar appeared as explosive as Virender Sehwag, and Yusuf Pathan as swashbuckling as Andrew Symonds. The world saw glimpses of Andrew Flintoff in Shane Watson and the legendary Wasim Akram in Sohail Tanvir. Even the lethargic Munaf Patel seemed to have transformed under the magic of Warne. Most importantly, they all formed a lethal outfit, where every individual enjoyed each other’s success. The team, defying all predictions, made it to the final, and the rest, as the cliched line goes, is history.

That’s how the incredible story of the Rajasthan Royals unfolded. Does it not have all the ingredients of a “masaaledaar”, entertaining Bollywood (or even Hollywood, for that matter) blockbuster. I am sure someone is already contemplating the idea. But even if someone does not, it hardly matters. For we have seen it all unfold in front of us. We’ll always remember the royals, won’t we? HALLA BOL…!!!

BCCI ka 20-20: A Review

Finally, the Indian Premier League is over. Watching television during prime time had become so boring, courtesy an overdose of “saas-bahu” drama and “unrealistic” reality shows. Thanks to the IPL, the monotony was broken, even though it only lasted for 44 days. To be honest, I was not all that excited when the tournament started. I never expected the concept of different cities fighting it out against each other on the cricket field to work in India, since we are not quite used to it. But, it worked, and how! While Mr. Lalit Modi and the BCCI are busy congratulating each other and celebrating the success of the IPL, let us spare a thought for the ones who are actually responsible for its birth - the Zee group, which started the ICL, against the wishes of the BCCI. IPL was nothing but the BCCI’s way of showing its might to the “rebels”, and I dare say had there been no ICL, there would not have been any IPL either. Not that I am complaining. Watching Sachin and Sanath come out to bat together, Mcgrath teasing Gilly around the off stump, and Ganguly and Ponting plotting the downfall of the opposition together would not have been possible, but for IPL. The quality of cricket witnessed during the IPL was exceptional, and we could not have asked for more as cricket fans. While the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Sohail Tanvir enhanced their reputation as emerging stars, cricketers like Shane Warne and Sanath Jayasuriya proved that class and greatness are not affected by age. Most importantly, the IPL has brought the Asnodkars, the Gonis and the Nayars into limelight, who could not have asked for a better platform to showcase their talent. The IPL successfully cashed in on the entertainment value associated with the shortest and the newest version of the game-the T-20. In many ways, a 20-20 game is very similar to a typical Bollywood movie- It promises to be fast paced with lots of action, several twists and turns and close finishes, lasting for 3 hours; the difference being that a T-20 game usually lives upto the expectations, while a ‘fillum’ rarely does so. The IPL witnessed packed stadiums in almost all the matches, besides enjoying very high television viewership. It was not surprising, given that ours is a cricket-crazy nation. Yet, a few points are worth noting. Firstly, the IPL matches were well-attended by family audiences at the stadiums. Secondly, the tickets for the semi-finals and the final in Mumbai were sold out, despite the absence of the local team in the last four. Cricket is a sport, which has been given the status of a religion in this country, but the IPL has perhaps given it a new identity - Cricketainment, starring celebrity owners, dancing cheerleaders and of course, the players. After a “superhit” first season, both the organizers and observers are looking forward to the next one. And that’s where Mr. Modi’s problems begin. The international cricket calendar does not have any room to accommodate another IPL for the next two years, unless the BCCI and ICC come out with some special plan. An option being considered is to have two IPL’s in the year 2011 to compensate for the loss of two years, as Lalit sa’ab has already suggested. It is however, a weird notion to organize two seasons of IPL in the world cup year, especially because India is hosting the mega event. Moreover, two months of IPL in the same year may just kill the hype, hoopla and excitement attached to it. Mr. Modi and the BCCI should be careful that they do not kill the golden goose that is laying them golden eggs. So, there may be some time before we get to see the battle of the cities once again. Hopefully, the non-performers of this season (read Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders) would have learnt their lessons and would give the rest of the teams stronger competition in the next season, whenever it is. We’ll be waiting.