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Its the end of march and Mumbai is heating up. Beyond the daily 34c and 48% humidity, everyone has got crazy IPL fever. Last sunday I walked through the park and saw about 200 pick up cricket games occurring simultaneously. I kid you not. there was a triplet of stumps every 5 meters, with bowlers all crossing over each other – people of all ages and kinds playing enthusiastically. I really don’t know how people kept track of their individual games but they did. The energy and determination was rampant. And how can you blame them when the Mumbai Indians are on fire. It feels like 2004 Boston all over again (the year the redsox ended an 86 year “curse” and won the world-series). I often talk with our deaf boys after a game and they recall with animated excitement the amazing shots God Sachin played the night before. Watching him play is always such a pleasure no matter what team you support. He is in complete control, almost to the point where its too easy. He himself has stated that it’s his aim to just play with some of the younger players and only really intervene as a way to “control the game if the plan goes astray”.

I went to a game last week with Rian. Leave it to me to go to the one game out of the 7 that Mumbai lost. Nonetheless the energy in the crowd was absolutely insane. I have seen cricket games in london, but the noise can only compare to an international world cup qualification game played in Wembley.

The Indian Premier League, for those a little less familiar, is a highly commercialized modified version of the long colonial game most people know as “cricket”. You know that game thats played in white socks and white cardigans over nice lawns in between breaks of tea that last far too long. Here the IPL is funked up, each team wears vibrant colors, has colourful names and notable sponsors. The whole event is itself filled with plenty of awards and a lot of money thrown around. Many compare it to the privatization seen in baseball or European Club Football.

Deep in the 3rd season and so far it seems to work. It has truly livened up the game. With added Bollywood edge, the audience for these games have doubled and tripled to include kids and lots of females. This version of the game is compressed it into 4 hours – where each team faces a 120 balls and has a chance to score as much as they can within those pressured constraints.

Of course enthusiasts, including my dad, Mathew Fisher and Steven Glover will always say, its a bastardized version of the game; that 5-day Test cricket is the real sophisticated version of the game that takes into account strategy and endurance. (important to note that all of these guys secretly love 20/20 and my dad is naturally responsibly for getting me into the game in the first place)

But the adrenal excitement and tension that 20/20 cricket creates is undeniable. the game can change at any second and more often than not boils down to the very last ball bowled.

Last night was a prime example of the game. All was over for mumbai as they barely made a 100 runs (good game average is 150), the 3rd last guy came on and just went insane. He smashed it and in 15 minutes – 19 balls got the score up to 171. Thats some insanity you cant find in football or baseball.

Besides masterclass Sachin Tendulkar, the other members of the team all perform solidly. The collective all-roundedness is what truly keeps the Mumbai Indians on top. It’s also why India has been doing quite well in the last few years in it’s international tournaments.

Overall the IPL is not just a crazy money maker, but also helps uncover new talent available for international level, letting experienced people like Tandulkar play with some of the young dudes. So yeah you can read a hundred articles about the IPL, but i wanted to cover it myself because at the moment it feels so part of being in mumbai. The energy and excitement that surrounds the lead up, and the follow through of each game.

I got tickets to see Mumbai – Delhi which I plan to go to with some people. Unfortunately Aditya is being a delhi loyalist and won’t join the mumbai hype. His sister, on the other hand is a much smarter cookie. Although, she’s the one who got me to come to this great city in the first place.

Will report more soon, sorry for my extended absence.

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see more at http://iplt20.com
and http://www.youtube.com/user/IPL for free streamings of live games.

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