Tuesday, May 15, 2012

IPL Trivia

One thing that amazes me about the IPL is how the commentators do it. They are at it day in and day out, full of enthusiasm and energy, poetry and songs, laughter and dance. But how much can you do this commentary? I get bored watching the games after a while and I wonder how they analyse the game and the players and the pitches, match after match. What I find most stressful is how they answer the questions posed by the well meaning anchors who try to get the commentators to commit on highly entertaining stuff like which side will win, who will score, how they think the game is placed, whether the toss is important and so on. But the commentators keep at it gamely.

The anchors fill me with surprise. They engage in some of the most inane conversations with the players and the franchise owners. For example common questions to players are - what was your strategy today? As if the player will reveal it to the whole world. Or, how do you plan to get Viru out today? And the most difficult one after all - how do you plan to celebrate your win today? Of course the cricketers give deliciously vague answers - it is as if they have all undergone training classes.

The cricketers speak like this. 'We are here to enjoy the game'. 'I was told to just go out and express myself'. 'They played better cricket than us.' 'He is a fantastic player'. 'Our batting clicked, our bowling clicked and our fielding clicked.' 'We must believe in the process and do a lot of hard work.' 'We were looking to bowl in the right areas.' 'The pitch was playing well and it had something for the bowlers as well.' Beyond this they do not say too much. Some gag order on them perhaps.

I like the conversations between the pretty anchors and the franchise owners best especially when it comes to cricket. Everyone suddenly develops an accent all the Rs are rolled with gusto. 'It is a pressurrre game..and we must bat well, field well and bowl well'. The anchors end up with asking about the party plans for the night and what the team's strategy is for the next game. Everyone is deliciously clueless about what is happening in the middle but you see, they own the teams and the other lady has the mike so we have to endure it all.

I am all for a law against cricketers spitting. If spitters can be fined for spitting on the road, cricketers must be fined for spitting in the ground and on camera. Its amazing how much they spit.

It is also interesting to note that quite a few MPs are at the games. Some as commentators, some as players, some as Commissioners of IPL. A sporty lot. How does the government function is what I'd like to know?

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