14 Tuesday 3rd June, 2008 the next level, and get each league in cial about the other. each country to resemble the English Norman Mailer's advice to 9/11 Premier League with an exciting mix novelists was to not attempt it until of international and national 10 years had passed. Even players. And then you an event so minor as Glitz, glamour, have the grand the IPL ought to be Champions League, given five. 2012 is like the Uefa model the right time which because that is when the cur- rent Test- match Future showbiz and a Tours last-ball finish stunning last-ball finish deliv- open the demographic. Top-rating ered to the inaugural Indian soaps, reality shows, game shows, all con- APremier League a finale it took a pummelling as entire house- dem- deserved, with Shane Warne at the holds, mothers-in-law and pets and nation crease when Rajasthan Royals, the small children, stopped to stare every as well least fancied, least expensive fran- evening at this montage of sixes, as, in the chise, chased down 163 to take the Bollywood stars, imported cheerlead- playstation era, trophy. ers with the triumph that Indian high praise. The best With the scores level and a ball to rupees had created all of this. A games had a kind of com- go, Warne, at the non-striker's end match ran for about the same dura- pressed intensity where each deliv- ran in from about as far as the tion as a Hindi movie. ery held the weight of an entire bowler, Lakshmipathy Balaji of Instructive was the choice of stu- match. The vigour with which play- Chennai Super Kings. The run-up dio anchors for the telecast: yuppie ers of all ages and colours roused proved quite unnecessary as Sohail males, the kind more tuned into EPL themselves was a revelation to those Tanvir pierced the infield, and the and Formula One, who now declared who thought only the national flag has taken sight then of an Australian legend without a shred of embarrassment could stir such passion. football to and a young Pakistani rejoicing that this cricket thing was quite fab. Too much about the IPL is still such together in victory before a packed An Indian engineer in Afghanistan unknown. We do not know if the heights." house in Mumbai about summed up who was held captive for a month tournament has bred long-term fans It is hard the contagious novelty of a tourna- returned home and found solace or passing oglers, and we do not to envisage ment that has changed forever the watching IPL in the evenings. know if some new television sensa- internation- scale at which cricket will be played. Cricket had never seen such a PR tion will upstage it the next time al Test Never a believer in the coach, Rajastan Royal Captain Shane Warne The Man of the Match as well as blitz. Journalists, commentators, round. We do not know, crucially, cricket the Man of the Series were both from players, coaching staff were all first whether franchises have recovered retaining solved the problem by himself taking on the job, and thereafter Rajasthan - all-rounders Yusuf IPL spokespersons. In newspapers more or less money than projected. primacy in announcing that his team would do away with all this computer stuff, Pathan of India and Shane Watson of the IPL was covered every day on the We do not know in either event such a sce- thank you. Australia - but it was Warne who as front page, the city pages, the celeb whether their response then will be nario. Think captain single-handedly exposed the pages, the business pages, apart from to cut cost or push for more matches. of the move, later this year, to squash fancy obsessions of modern cricket. monopolising the sports pages. The traditionalist's fear of a fran- in the Twenty20 Champions League Programme runs out; when the Never a believer in the coach, he If the corporate money pumped chise hegemony is not entirely base- in the nine days between the fifty- Indian board chief Sharad Pawar's solved the problem by himself taking into the tournament gave it the pro- less. Already Lalit Modi, the commis- over Champions Trophy in England tenure as the president of the ICC on the job, and thereafter announcing file, it also brought with it a grating sioner of the IPL, has spoken of the and a major Test tour of India by will have come to an end; when fran- that his team would do away with all intrusiveness. A six in the IPL, every possibility of two editions annually, a Australia. Ricky Ponting and others chise Twenty20 leagues will have this computer stuff, thank you. 622 of them, was no longer a six, it league and a knockout. Already it has have sounded a warning for prema- established everywhere; and when it To say the IPL was a wild success was a 'DLF Maximum.' A sharp catch been suggested that player-trading ture international retirements; more may be realised of 50-overs cricket is an understatement. Success of this came branded as a 'Citi Moment Of begin from the next tournament worrisome is the thought of young after another bloated World Cup in kind can also be disquieting. Indian Success'. Commentators tripped over rather than the one after, that five cricketers working out that franchise 2011 that it is neither here nor there television consumers have run crick- each other to make these plugs. A rather than four international play- Twenty20 offers perfectly wonderful yet simply everywhere. et for more than a decade now, but future where a batsman executes a ers be allowed in starting XIs, and career prospects. And, who knows, maybe by then they were still a limited audience. Toyota Front-Foot Drive against an that salary-caps for players be abol- No ambitious franchise league in the Test cricket will flourish as a day- People may find it hard to believe but Intel Faster One may not be the stuff ished. any sport lives on a mere six weeks a night enterprise, four days, 100-overs there are Indians who could not care of satire. "The grand vision," IS Bindra, an year. Here lies cricket's hope. It is not per day. It will be played in whites to watch cricket. Well, at least there The cricket itself was both daz- influential member of the IPL gov- any other sport. It is able to exist so jerseys but with a pink ball. And per- were until a couple of months ago. zling and monotonous, a bit like erning council and principal advisor satisfactorily across a range of for- haps Warnie will be around to bowl The IPL spectacularly cracked video-game cricket, which works as to the ICC said, "is to move cricket to mats, each highlighting what is spe- it. (Guardian) New coach Robbie Deans names Warne’s Rajasthan Royals reign supreme Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals purposeful batting paved the way himself in the first over and dictate had the serendipity of scripting a for Chennai Super Kings to post a terms. Not long ago the left-arm 7 new faces for Wallabies glorious last-ball win in the DLF- modest total. It was a peculiar first seamer had struck the big blows at IPL final in front of a full house at session when the left hander was Jaipur removing Parthiv Patel and the D.Y. Patil Stadium here on the lone batsman who came close to Stephen Fleming in almost identi- SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - New Scott Staniforth, Hugh McMeniman Sunday. Unperturbed by the fall of dominating the bowling. Mahendra cal fashion. Doubts still persist if coach Robbie Deans didn't wait and Greg Holmes. a clutch of wickets and undaunted Singh Dhoni added valuable runs Asad Rauf, the Pakistan umpire in long to make changes to Vickerman will be side- by the climbing run rate, the Jaipur in the end to take the total to 163. that league match was fair in hand- outfit proceeded to dare the rival. ing out a favourable decision in the Australia's rugby team, lined for six weeks due to an Yusuf Pathan (56, 39b) was the Steady start first over itself. naming seven rookies ankle injury requiring sur- most daring batsman profited Super Kings made a steady start On Sunday Billy Bowden did Monday in a 30-man gery. mostly from glaring lapses made on and eschewed risks. Sohail Tanvir not show interest although Tanvir training squad for the After flying into the field by Chennai Super Kings, was not allowed to impose upon was as lively. Tanvir made no more June 14 test against Sydney on Monday to especially by Suresh Raina and impression in the first over, in fact Ireland. take up his new posi- Manpreet Gony off his own bowl- he deviated down the leg side and New South tion, Deans said he ing. Patel turned his wrists and deflect- Pathan capitalised on the luck SCOREBOARD ed the ball to the fine leg fence. Wales Waratahs was looking forward that came his way and secured the The Rajsthan Royals captain Luke Burgess, to his team's first final victory for his team with a Chennai Super Kings Shane Warne noticed Tanvir’s Dean Mumm and training session blazing knock that had four mighty P.Patel c Akmal b Y. Pathan 38 predicament in the first over and Lachie Turner Tuesday at Manly sixes and three boundary shots and S. Vidyut c Jadeja b Y.