It is not very often that I post two consecutive blogs meandering around the same topic(probably coz I don't post that often...:)). So when I'm doing it, that itself conveys something. When I was wondering how could I give this post a binding start something with which I can trap the reader into reading the second paragraph after he finishes with the first (yes...trap is the word...now you know what was I thinking while keying in these lines...mind you this is also the first para...)...I realized that the introduction of the previous blog just fits in here too...
(quoting...)
"The title of this one suffices for the introduction. You probably guessed it right this post is an after effect of the India-Pak Twenty20 encounter. Having just come out of the hostel TV Room, jam packed with fans going berserk, I had to write this one in order to let the overflowing energy flow out peacefully."
But all was not the same as when the two teams had met each other in the Group Stage. This time it was the final, and that too of a World Cup. The build up was exciting as ever. All Indians had their statistics right when they confidently stated "Pakistan has never beaten India in a World Cup match" but the point was that would these stats still be loyal to India after the final.
For Dhoni, the newly appointed ODI captain, it was a chance to win over some Ganguly loyalists who wanted to see Dada back in his favorite office. Pathan, Harbhajan also had certain things to prove, with a lot of others in the team trying to shine out of the lot. The excitement quotient had left no remainders.
The match gave the fans more than they anticipated. For a change this time it was different from the usual one-sided Aussie affairs, which one associates with World Cup Finals. Although it didn't lead to a tie followed by the penalty shootouts but the final over by all means managed to create the same tension, thrill and excitement buoyed by the magnanimity of the occasion.
This World Cup has proven to be a great success. The fact that Twenty20 has made its way into the next Asian Games speaks volumes of the nature of its popularity. The aftereffects of this slam-bang form of cricket are yet to be seen in ODIs and Tests. We might be spectators to the ODI scores rocketing to new heights and a lot more results in Tests. Perhaps T20 is the much needed pill of Viagra that would lead to the requisite resurrection of cricket.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
20-20=100% Entertainment
The title of this one suffices for the introduction. You probably guessed it right this post is an after effect of the India-Pak Twenty20 encounter. Having just come out of the hostel TV Room, jam packed with fans going berserk, I had to write this one in order to let the overflowing energy flow out peacefully.
Shorter duration, bigger shots, crazy outcomes (Zim bt Aus, Ban bt WI...the latter not being that crazy...) and top that up with Penalty Shootouts..."Chak De India! style". Yes, I could have said "Football Style" or "Hockey Style" but I feel Chak De! had its own effect in adrenalizing the thrill and excitement to a new level for the viewers. The final moments were definitely reminiscent of the World Cup Final Match in the film (the girls were missing though...)
Well the future of Twenty20 depended heavily on this match. Had this been a dull one sided game, India's (read Indian viewers') first encounter with the shortest form of the game would not have been exactly encouraging from the audiences' point of view. The first impression, even if not the last impression, is a lasting impression so it would have definitely had its toll on an average Indian fan's interest in this novel form of cricket.
The tight finish, better call it the tied finish followed by the hit and miss penalty shootouts made it a treat to watch. Guessing from the reactions particularly this match has generated it seems Twenty20 will go places (unless India have really tough luck in the matches ahead and the short-lived memory of the common Indian viewer undergoes a negative "System Restore" blaming Twenty20 for the team's unholy deeds....but why even think of this...let's stay in the "Safe Mode" I mean the Chak De! Mode for the time being...)
So are the 50 over matches ready to be trimmed to the shorter version (now this phrase "shorter version of the game" has a new definition)? I believe the two forms or rather the three forms of cricket can co-exist in harmony, as after much hue and cry Test Cricket had to settle in with a fresher and a more dynamic form in the ODIs. With the ODIs ageing fast, people being interested only in the first 10 and the last 10 overs of the match it was only natural for Twenty20 to come up and be successful (For those who did not realize the mathematical gravity of the this statement...first 10+last 10 of either innings=Twenty20...I just told you the philosophy which gave birth to Twenty20!). And with this Eureka thought about the origin of the new firebrand form of Cricket, I come to the end of this post....will come back soon.
Shorter duration, bigger shots, crazy outcomes (Zim bt Aus, Ban bt WI...the latter not being that crazy...) and top that up with Penalty Shootouts..."Chak De India! style". Yes, I could have said "Football Style" or "Hockey Style" but I feel Chak De! had its own effect in adrenalizing the thrill and excitement to a new level for the viewers. The final moments were definitely reminiscent of the World Cup Final Match in the film (the girls were missing though...)
Well the future of Twenty20 depended heavily on this match. Had this been a dull one sided game, India's (read Indian viewers') first encounter with the shortest form of the game would not have been exactly encouraging from the audiences' point of view. The first impression, even if not the last impression, is a lasting impression so it would have definitely had its toll on an average Indian fan's interest in this novel form of cricket.
The tight finish, better call it the tied finish followed by the hit and miss penalty shootouts made it a treat to watch. Guessing from the reactions particularly this match has generated it seems Twenty20 will go places (unless India have really tough luck in the matches ahead and the short-lived memory of the common Indian viewer undergoes a negative "System Restore" blaming Twenty20 for the team's unholy deeds....but why even think of this...let's stay in the "Safe Mode" I mean the Chak De! Mode for the time being...)
So are the 50 over matches ready to be trimmed to the shorter version (now this phrase "shorter version of the game" has a new definition)? I believe the two forms or rather the three forms of cricket can co-exist in harmony, as after much hue and cry Test Cricket had to settle in with a fresher and a more dynamic form in the ODIs. With the ODIs ageing fast, people being interested only in the first 10 and the last 10 overs of the match it was only natural for Twenty20 to come up and be successful (For those who did not realize the mathematical gravity of the this statement...first 10+last 10 of either innings=Twenty20...I just told you the philosophy which gave birth to Twenty20!). And with this Eureka thought about the origin of the new firebrand form of Cricket, I come to the end of this post....will come back soon.
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