You don’t realise how big the IPL is until you’re in India when the circus works its way across the country.
Television station watermarks count down the days until showtime.
The Times of India profiles one franchise per day.
Virat Kohli spruiks hair gel on the cricket channel every five minutes.
When the sixth season of the Indian Premier League finally kicked off last Wednesday, every television in Anjuna – a small rural community at the seaside paradise of Goa – was tuned to the IPL.
And I mean every set, from the residents to the hotel guests to the scooter rental places to the kitchen at the live music venue, in a place that doesn’t even have a team of its own.
This would all add up to a ratings share of State of Origin proportions – and it happens every night until the finals start mid-May.
What to do then but join the party that stops a nation? I booked a flight north to see Ricky Ponting’s Mumbai Indians take on David Warner’s Delhi Daredevils six days later.
Compared to the New Delhi test match featuring the Aussies last month, securing IPL tickets is a breeze.
Collecting them involves heading to the Wankhede Stadium a day before the game, which sees armoured vehicles and several dozen platoons of security already flanking the ground.
You can see why IPL 2 was moved to South Africa in 2009 due to India’s security forces being unable to police both the cricket tournament and the concurrent general elections.
If you’re surprised it was cricket that made the compromise, politics is serious business here – their television panel shows have debates so explosive they make Q and A look like Romper Room.
The IPL’s grip on the public’s imagination is helped by the fact that the teams have a title to play for, and their best players are on show every match.
Fittingly, ‘million dollar baby’ Glen Maxwell isn’t in Mumbai’s 11 tonight.
For the cricket watching purist, the key to enjoying the IPL is to accept that T20 has about as much to do with test match cricket as One Direction do with The Beatles, or Tom Waterhouse with rugby league.
To get into the spirit of things I head to the merch stand, flick past the light-up devil horns and multi-coloured wigs, and strap myself into a Mumbai Indians bandana.
If Peter FitzSimons can get away with it in his Sydney Morning Herald mugshot, I don’t see why I can’t give it a good shake either.
On entering the stadium at 8.00pm, first impressions are that Wankhede is like the Return Of The Jedi Death Star to the Gabba’s Star Wars version – there may be a few sections missing, but this battle station is packed and fully operational.
Supporters flags are stuck to every seat. Ice cream sellers compete with McDonald’s and Domino’s.
That annoying mariarchi trumpet sounds regularly over the PA, and the crowd roars in response. Cheerleaders cheer from podiums spaced around the boundaries.
There’s also some sport being played. Mumbai win the toss, Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar walk out to open the batting, and any dreams of a transcendental moment are crushed when they’re both back in the pavilion seven balls later with one run between them.
Luckily Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma light up the Wankhede, and as the Delhi fast bowling team of Morkel, Ishant and Nehra look for a hole to crawl into, their batters see an imposing target of 210 to chase down.
From the moment Ponting takes a screamer off Harbhajan’s opening ball of the Delhi innings, you sense this will only end one way.
Punter scurries around the field marshalling his troops like it’s his first game as captain, his energy more Red Dog than Mumbai slumdog.
Meanwhile, the millionaire, Glenn Maxwell, is carrying refreshments to his teammates and waving to fans, who look back incredulous at a guy earning more tonight than all of his fellow Mumbai drinks waiters combined for the year.
An announcement goes up at 10.00pm that the PA is being shut down, presumably due to a noise complaint from the neighbours.
Wrapped early for the night, the cheerleaders sit next to their podiums, no doubt waxing lyrical about Punter’s rapid-fire bowling changes and the upcoming prime ministerial smackdown between Modi and Gandhi.
David Warner plays some circumspect shots between between lusty swooshes in a one-man counter-attack; Mitchell Johnson bowls pies but somehow takes wickets, Glenn Maxwell doesn’t do much of anything. It’s like a night out at the SCG, sans beer snakes.
The game drifts into tedium as Delhi’s lack of batting resources sees them fall 44 runs short, with many fans making for the exits early.
Having spent three weeks on Indian roads, trying to ‘beat the traffic’ seems to me a tad optimistic.
So the circus leaves town for now, with me soon to follow. But it looks like we’ll cross paths again at Eden Gardens, Kolkata next Sunday.
A man can never have too many bandanas, after all.
Follow Kris on Twitter: @KrisSwales
vikramsinh
Guest
it will be if the attitude of aus or eng doesn't change.
lolly
Guest
It's great fun. And a handy timeframe.
Kris Swales
Expert
Right you are sir! I did mean Irfan, I think the ink from the bandana must've seeped into my brain. ;-)
Clavers
Guest
Why not have international series encompassing all three (or at least two) forms? Each country could be restricted to a squad of say 18-20 players, allowing some fast bowler rotation as well as allowance for some, but not all, players to specialize in one format or another. Teams could earn say 5 points for a test victory, 3 for an ODI and 2 for a T20 victory, and 2 points for a first innings victory in a drawn test. ODI series would. I longer be "meaningless;" they would be an integral part of a three-format super series.
Deepak
Guest
I am chipping in here with a pedantic observation - Ishant doesn't play for Delhi Daredevils, he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad. You probably meant Irfan Pathan! :)
Sanjay
Guest
No one hates the IPL, some folks can't watch it because its late here when it starts.
Tenash
Guest
Bad news for IPL haters & T20 snobs generally - IPL 6 off to a storming start the 1st 5 matches had 100 million viewers this season compared to 79 million for 1st 5 games of IPL 5
Rob Barrow
Guest
Nice one
Rob Barrow
Guest
I dont think IPL will every be as big as the NBA, but i may be wrong.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
I love the IPL. It's great theatre, the best cricketers in the world all going at it. But I can still say I'd prefer to watch Test cricket all day every day. It's all cricket, enjoy it for what it is.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
Just google, "live cricket streaming", you'll have no problem watching every game live, probably not in HD though haha.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
The fact that everyone else on here believes test cricket will survive, surely means that the general population of established cricket fans place tests as the priority. Unless you're expecting us to be all dead by 2025, then there's no reason Test cricket won't survive another half century at least.
vikramsinh
Guest
I think other countries must think about it before IPL becomes NBA (usa) which is bigger then basket baaaaall
nickyc
Guest
I'm with you. I have no affinity with T20 whatsoever. It's formulaic and debases most cricketing skills. However, I agree that administrators do need to look at promoting test cricket and if necessary making changes. I'd go along with day/night matches to increase accessibility although that might have a problematic impact on playing conditions in some parts of the world. Not sure about 4 day tests given how batsmen friendly pitches have become. Series of tedious draws are unlikely to help test cricket. Maybe a panel of independent pitch 'advisors' could be instituted to ensure the production of test wickets that offer something to both batsmen and bowlers, not least the spinners. I'd also like to see run rather than cash penalties for slow over rates in order to make tests more attractive to time conscience modern spectators.
sheek
Roar Guru
The first step often in saving something is to admit it could be lost. That motivates you to preserve what it is you love. To do what is necessary. Conversly, to be in denial to the potential of something's demise, is actually inclined to hasten its ending.
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi Don, Absolutely. Test cricket DOES need tweaking - day/night tests over 4 days, national coloured clothing, different coloured ball, tiered ticket pricing structures for sessions & days. For gawd's sake, WSC made day/night super tests happen 36 seasons ago. Count them - 36 seasons! But here's the thing, so far cricket authorities have shown little inclination to help test cricket. And THAT is the very big worry.
Don Corleone
Guest
Sheek, Like yourself, I love test cricket. Perhaps it has been neglected by authorities, but there are fundamental adjustments the format needs to make to be more viable which have been discussed on the Roar (ie coloured clothing, twilight tests, 4-day matches). For instance, I was reading that around 30% of scheduled test match time does not even get played through wash-outs and early finishes. This just makes the format struggle in terms of the bottom line. Perhaps a 2-format model with Tests and T20 will mean better things for test cricket. I like T20...but it should never be the preeminent form of the game.
formeropenside
Guest
no, its souless corporate performance art, stripped of real meaning
sheek
Roar Guru
Take the emotion away & look at this logically. CA decides to place BBL in peak season alongside tests. Structurally unsound. Make that ridiculous. Make that a death wish. Players striving for test selection denied long game practice. Even established test stars denied long game practice in Sheffield Shield. You don't need lead-in practice for shorter forms of cricket, but you most certainly do for the longer forms. But the desire to rake the money in from T20 is insatiable. From administrators down to players, it's the gold rush equivalent of the Klondike "49ers." It's great the BBL (like the IPL) has opened up more opportunities for cricketers, but it has come at the expense of playing standards. You don't need to be technically very good to play BBL, or even IPL. Athletic yes, but you can hide your poor technical skills most of the time. The Sheffield Shield has suffered a massive drop in technical quality. Players are no longer making the long-form, or red ball cricket, their priority. And CA? Look at the contract list. Only 5-6 specialist batsmen??? The list is full of 'bitzers' - a bit of this, a bit of that. Specialists not required. Cricket authorities around the globe are dumbing down the quality of test cricket by producing inferior players. Batsmen who have lost the art of building an innings & bowlers who have lost the art of thinking a batsman out. As test cricket becomes an inferior product, fans will walk away. Not by choice, but because it's no longer top drawer quality. Test cricket WILL survive only if the administrators retain its priority. But they give themselves away by chasing the short-term gain of T20 money. Test cricket will most probably be destroyed from within. By the very people entrusted with ensuring its longevity.
MYPl
Guest
Too bad it's not on TV in Oz. I would've flicked to it from time to time.