Even after 10 days of competition there is no runaway leader in IPL season five. All teams have opened their account and the points table can change in just a matter of days. This necessarily means two things: first, the format is such that any team can win on a given day and second, fans of each and every team will have things to look forward to as the tournament enters its middle phase. In many ways IPL season 5 has been the closest ever. Till season 4 teams like Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, for example, established early leads while the others played catch up. In season 4, the impact of Gayle was such that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won a slew of matches after the West Indian joined the team. None of the likes has happened in season 5. In fact, except the usual Lasith Malinga, there hasn?t been a single impact player who has created havoc consistently, nor has there been a runaway star yet in either batting or bowling.
Rather, there have been a few one match wonders. Laxmipathy Balaji for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the match against RCB, Dimitri Mascarenhas for Kings XI Punjab in the match against Pune Warriors, Steve Smith for the Warriors against Mumbai and Morne Morkel for Delhi Daredevils versus KKR. This is an interesting trend and is a pointer for the future. It demonstrates, yet again, the unpredictability of the format and proves that there is no overwhelming favourite in T-20 cricket. It also proves how this format can be the greatest leveler of all. The case of Virat Kohli is a perfect case in point.
Virat, we all agree, is Indian cricket?s next big superstar. His outstanding performance in Australia capped by the hundred against Sri Lanka at Hobart is proof of his maturing talent. The Asia Cup hundred against Pakistan, which followed up his Australia performance, will always rank as one of the best one-day hundreds of all time. In sum, Virat could do no wrong for a while. The same player was hit for 28 runs by Albie Morkel in the match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and RCB and was instrumental in RCB frittering away the advantage. While many have blamed Daniel Vettori for handing the ball to Virat in the penultimate over, there?s little doubt that 28 runs in an over happen once in a hundred occasions.
The other case in point is Richard Levi. He came into the tournament riding on the reputation of the 45 ball hundred he scored in New Zealand. And he started the tournament with a man of the match performance against CSK. Levi, it was thought, was the new star to have emerged on the scene. However, he was soon found out against quality bowling. Murali Kartik picked him up early in the match against the Warriors and Dale Steyn did so in the match against Deccan Chargers.
The bigger point is that T-20 cricket is no longer a novelty with only a few outstanding players. Rather, more mediocre players who don?t have the skill to excel in Test cricket or the 50-over format can surely hold their own in this format. Four overs or a 15 ball 30 is possible for many making T-20 cricket that much more difficult to predict. It also proves that come the T-20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in September and it will be impossible to pick a pre tournament favourite. With Chris Gayle back in the West Indies team and with Kevon Cooper, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Nara all doing well, the West Indies, too, will have a good chance to go the distance in the competition.
Finally, much has been made of the fact that the television rating of the tournament is down in comparison to season 4. This, it must be acknowledged, is a given, now that the tournament and its associated novelty is a thing of the past. Every country has a T-20 league and that fans are still coming to the stadium should be taken as a marker of the resilience of the brand, which isn?t the case with the Champions League, for example. It clearly proves that while the IPL is here to stay, the Champions league has little meaning. Finally, it is also interesting that there has been a significant rise in the tournament?s fan base on the Internet. The new media, it has to be acknowledged, is the next step in fan engagement. That?s where the next round of innovation is due to happen and the IPL may well be setting the trend.
The writer is a sports historian