IPL.. Exciting... nah
Well, IPL is underway and it is good to see a fresh new face on cricket horizon. I am currently traveling and missed the opening ceremony and the live telecast and just following the first game on the internet.
When ICL started off with their first edition, I followed that also for the first bunch of matched before completely losing interest. There were multiple reasons - firstly, I didn't know which team to support (and the reasons for which I will speak of in a later post) and secondly, the cricket itself got boring as a lot of matches were getting one sided. Which ever team you support, a one sided match is boring. If your supported team wins, you might be happy but not entertained.
And exactly because of this, I loved the last edition of ICL, it was turning exciting and a lot of matches went to the last over. The finals were riveting affairs with both finals going to the last over and second one going into a bowl out. Now, that kept me hooked to the TV.
Lets fast forward to the day and the first match of IPL has been a complete bummer. It was so one sided that even though SRK would be happy, he would be feeling real sleepy. Sometime back I read Jug Suraiya talking about how the promoters and franchisees of IPL can make sure that all the investment can be recovered and the best way to do it would be to script matches.
I think it is not a bad solution, at least not as bad as the one sided match where one team loses a T20 match by over 100 runs. Time for Lalit Modi and the franchisees to put on their thinking hats and find a solution to these one sided matches...
When ICL started off with their first edition, I followed that also for the first bunch of matched before completely losing interest. There were multiple reasons - firstly, I didn't know which team to support (and the reasons for which I will speak of in a later post) and secondly, the cricket itself got boring as a lot of matches were getting one sided. Which ever team you support, a one sided match is boring. If your supported team wins, you might be happy but not entertained.
And exactly because of this, I loved the last edition of ICL, it was turning exciting and a lot of matches went to the last over. The finals were riveting affairs with both finals going to the last over and second one going into a bowl out. Now, that kept me hooked to the TV.
Lets fast forward to the day and the first match of IPL has been a complete bummer. It was so one sided that even though SRK would be happy, he would be feeling real sleepy. Sometime back I read Jug Suraiya talking about how the promoters and franchisees of IPL can make sure that all the investment can be recovered and the best way to do it would be to script matches.
There is one simple solution to all these killjoy questions: 'script' IPL events in the manner of World Wrestling Federation matches. It's an open — and fully accepted — secret that all professional wrestling matches are pre-arranged, or 'scripted', with not just the eventual outcome but all the various moves — the holds, locks and throws — which lead to it following a pre-planned and well-rehearsed choreography.
Far from detracting from spectator interest, such pre-determination of WWF matches actually adds to the drama as it unfolds in the ring. Indeed, thanks to the rehearsed moves and, of course, the superb athleticism of the contenders, a pre-planned match actually provides for a more balletic spectacle than the rough and tumble of a 'straight' fight would.
Watching a scripted fight is like watching a movie in which there is a clearly identifiable 'good guy' and an equally obvious 'bad guy'. More often than not, the 'good guy' wins, but not always.
Moreover, in the moral relativism of WWF (and of movies) a 'good guy' in one match (or film) can be a 'bad guy' in another, and vice versa.
more...
I think it is not a bad solution, at least not as bad as the one sided match where one team loses a T20 match by over 100 runs. Time for Lalit Modi and the franchisees to put on their thinking hats and find a solution to these one sided matches...
Comments