Two and a half weeks in, and it’s safe to say that the Indian Premier League has pulled off the emergency switch to South Africa: relatively full grounds, machine gun bursts of entertainment and an outrageous marketing budget (rumoured to be around R100-million) have combined for an unexpected but welcome extension to the cricket season.

It’s not been completely smooth sailing — tight finishes have been exception rather than rule, several teams look horribly understrength, and the next commentator to excitedly shriek “DFL maximum” as the ball soars over the boundary should be taken onto the field and shot (Danny Morrison would almost certainly be the man to go, and none too soon).

But a combination of raw curiosity, a love of sport, and the chance to see cricket’s modern stars assembled in random colours linked to cities most South Africans know nothing about, have combined to give the transplanted cricket circus enough support to take off and flourish. And where a year ago the IPL was a distant blur, one team blending into another in a competition that appeared to have no end, this year South Africans are starting to know their Daredevils from their Challengers, and there’s genuine interest in specific teams and results.

Having the tournament on home soil is largely the reason for the change in attitude, but it’s also because there’s been a substantial change in why some teams are succeeding and others aren’t. In 2008, the Indian players determined much of the success, young unknowns flourishing in familiar conditions, and dictating results accordingly. This year, it’s the foreign players and their contributions that are determining results, and with the match winners far more recognisable to a South African audience, it’s been easier to identify with the assorted teams.

The Deccan Chargers are a perfect example. Nobody appears to have told Adam Gilchrist that he’s retired, and hasn’t played for 12 months — the Chargers skipper has been murderous, and paired with Herschelle Gibbs, who’s seeing basketballs at the crease, Hyderabad’s team is unbeaten for good reason. Fidel Edwards reinforces the importance of the internationals, and with Andrew Symonds still to join the team, the Chargers are good money for the title.

Similarly the Daredevils have AB de Villiers, quite unstoppable at the moment, Dan Vettori, miserly until last night’s Royals upset, and the new Australian quick Nannes, who’s seriously quick (ask Jacques Kallis) and is keeping Glenn McGrath out of the side, while the Kings have Matthew Hayden equally oblivious to the fact that he’s a retired international, and Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel, a middle order you’d hardly be lining up to bowl at in a twenty over game.

Of course, the Indian players have also been key, with Kumble’s wickets and Tendulkar’s runs eye-catching, but the younger players haven’t made the same impact of a year ago, when new stars made a significant impression. Granted, the top orders are stacked with foreigners, limiting opportunities to lower order hit-and-miss, or bowling in a game that’s tailored for batting, but playing in South Africa has been a challenge for the Indian support cast, many of whom are travelling internationally for the first time.

It does mean that Indian cricket will end the IPL with a new generation of stars in waiting vested of invaluable experience in alien conditions, which suggests India will lead 20-over cricket for the foreseeable future. In the interim, though, as the tournament moves north, there’s season two of IPL to finish. So who’s going to win it?

The Royals are defending champions; despite Tuesday’s win, I can’t see them making the semifinal, as they simply don’t have the depth. I’d hoped the Knight Riders would be in the running, but they bat down to three and have two bowlers, which is hardly a recipe for success (and the captaincy is a major issue). The Royal Challengers are ordinary, Kevin Pietersen with much to do to justify his price tag, and the King’s XI Punjab aren’t any better, which leaves four teams in the running.

Chargers are unbeaten, and enjoying life under Darren Lehman (who the team has nicknamed ‘Aloo’, or ‘fat potato’, the term that had Inzimam famously charging into the crowd to attack an offending fan in a game in Canada), and the Daredevils, hiccup aside, have a balanced side. The Mumbai Indians are looking ruthless with Tendulkar and Jayasuriya in rich form (IPL as an old man’s game?), and Flintoff’s demise is hardly a blow to a Chennai Super Kings team that’s full of talent.

I picked the Mumbai Indians to win it at the start of the tournament; I still reckon they’ll be in the final, but the Chargers are looking very dangerous. The winners? I’ll go with South Africa: a great tournament on home soil, crowd support that’s really made the tournament work, and another ringing endorsement of our ability to host world class events, and do so most impressively. And in a tournament where the destination of the trophy is most important in underlining a wealthy owner’s vanity project, that we’ve pulled this together so comprehensively is the more important victory for South Africa in the IPL.

  • Contact Dan at dan@metropolis.co.za


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