The next stage in cricket’s rapidly-accelerating evolution was launched in Bangalore on Friday; by a zanily spectacular, yet mercifully brief, opening ceremony to the hotly-anticipated Indian Premier League. A bewildering performance by a troupe of brides, each encased in a giant translucent bubble, was superseded only by the enthusiastic input of the Washington Redskins’ cheerleaders – imported en masse specially for the grand occasion.
All of this silliness preceded the seminal clash which launched the IPL – between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders (though, a little disappointingly, there was no sign of an appearance by KITT or even The Hoff – a missed PR opportunity if ever there was one). Over 44 days, the inaugural competition will see 123 Indian cricketers and 73 highly-paid mercenaries, er, overseas players participating in 59 matches in eight different regions across the vast expanse of newly-affluent India.
Business magnates and Bollywood moguls have been tripping over themselves to splurge their bounty on luring the world’s best to the subcontinent during the past few months and, naturally, the world’s best could hardly refuse the lure of the ludicrous football-size salaries offered up by the eight competing franchises.
The cricket world has since been in thrall to the machinations surrounding the build-up to the tournament, which has been depicted as a more palatable predecessor to Kerry Packer’s controversial World Series of some 30 years ago.
By the time Knight Riders' opening partnership – captain Sourav Ganguly and Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum – strode purposefully into the middle at the floodlit M Chinnaswammy Stadium; clad in a fetching, if ever so slightly garish, black shirt and gold helmet combination, the 55,000-strong Bangalore crowd had already reached fever pitch.
While the US constitution famously confers “the right to bear arms” upon its citizens, the IPL’s constitution evidently includes “the right to bear gaudy bats” – each Kolkata batsman arrived on the field wielding a shiny, golden slab of willow with intent. And it was McCullum who used his to greatest effect in the opening overs; hammering four consecutive boundaries (which incorporated an unfeasibly massive six over third man) off Zaheer Khan’s second over – while the TV cameras picked up Knight Riders’ owner and Bollywood impresario Shah Rukh Khan cavorting joyously in the stands.
Racing towards his fifty from just 33 balls, McCullum (then on 25) was dropped on the boundary after skying an Ashley Noffke delivery – perhaps the critical moment in the match. The escape only served to galvanise the inspired New Zealander, who went on to slog all-comers far and away over the invitingly short boundary rope, on his way to a 53-ball century (and in just over an hour).
More illustrious team-mates Ganguly (10) and Ricky Ponting (a run-a-ball 20) were out relatively cheaply – the highlight of Punter’s brief IPL debut being his insistence on charging down the track at every conceivable (and inconceivable) opportunity to Bangalore’s star man Jacques Kallis. This clearly didn’t bother McCullum though; as he went on to compile an astonishing unbeaten 158 – shattering the existing Twenty20 world record of 141 held, ironically, by his Bangalore opponent, Aussie all-rounder Cameron White.
The 26-year-old from Otago, who later admitted to suffering from a bout of pre-match nerves, showcased a striking array of shots in an innings which included a mind-boggling 13 sixes – one of which fittingly closed the Kolkata innings on an intimidating 222 for 3.
From the moment Ishant Sharma violently knocked back the leg stump of Rahul Dravid (2) in the second over of the home team’s reply, the prospect of an unlikely Bangalore victory appeared all but dead in the water. Soon after, potential saviour Kallis followed a fine six with a straight slog to Murali Kartik from the bowling of Agit Agarkar (3-25) and the collapse was well and truly underway. Established international stars White and Mark Boucher could only muster a measly 13 between them as the Royal Challengers folded to 82 all out, failing even to make it through their 20 over allocation. At the conclusion the overriding feeling was, even at this early stage, that Kolkata could well establish themselves as a Premier League powerhouse.
So, the IPL Twenty20 opener was an anti-climactic, lopsided affair, but with the matches coming thick and fast, there’s still the promise of plentiful memorable moments to come from world greats and up-and-coming Indian stars alike.
Upcoming highlights will doubtless include the appearance of India under-19s star Napoleon Einstein, representing the equally charmingly-named Chennai SuperKings (perhaps a precedent has been set – Surrey RizlaPapers, anyone?). And will the unimaginatively-monikered Mumbai Indians (...Glamorgan Welshmen?) be able to out-perform their uninspired name? Boasting both national idol Sachin Tendulkar and exceptional death-bowler Lasith Malinga they surely will.
With its Bollywood glamour, bubble-brides, cheerleaders and all, the Indian Premier League has already marked itself out as a sporting spectacular in the vein of the major US sports. For traditionalists, the unadulterated razzmatazz of Bangalore was certainly a long, long way removed from the tea-sipping English county game. But perhaps that’s not such a bad thing?
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