May 29, 2012

IPL 5 is over. While the matches provided a lot of excitement, I would be more convinced about the genuineness of the whole thing if someone did an analysis of the numbers and proved that there were no match/spot fixing shenanigans. One thing that comes to mind is no balls: some statistical significance studies on the number of no balls bowled versus the bowlers and at what stage in the match they were bowled, was it a touch-and-go decision or was it blatant overstepping, and so on.

Having recently witnessed the scenes of celebration at the Etihad Stadium, the contrast with the IPL final could not have been starker. The inordinate focus on the owner -- who might as well have worn a clown costume, by the way -- instead of the players who made it happen, the lack of genuine grassroots support (Usha "Look at me, I have a whistle in my mouth" Uthup, Juhi Chawla and other assorted celebrities trying to warm themselves in the spotlights do not count), the contrived joy and enthusiasm of the players who did not figure in the playing eleven -- there is a difference between waiting 44 years for a trophy as compared to five.