Have you wondered where your employees have gone this week? Were you thinking you have been lucky to avoid the latest epidemic or perhaps have you been racking your brains imagining that you have missed a religious festival?
The last is perhaps the closest given that cricket is considered by many to be a heaven-sent wonder in India. Business colleagues tell me scores of fans have been flocking home early to watch the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
So, who have they been watching?
Not unusually for Indian cricket the off-pitch drama rivals that on the field. Just a month ago some doubted the event would take place at all given the IPL corruption case being heard in the Supreme Court.
The latest investigation into allegations of betting irregularities has seen the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recommend a three-man panel to investigate.
Of wider note was the Supreme Court’s rejection of a plea by N Srinivasan to be reinstated as chairman of the BCCI having been heavily implicated in an earlier investigation. Srinivasan is currently due to take over as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in July.
The Middle East, demonstrating the massive support for the game in the region with sell-outs across the UAE, kicked off proceedings with an evening match in Abu Dhabi. Mumbai Indians, the defending champions, retained the majority of their key players and added the reliable Mike Hussey and in-form player, Corey Anderson.
At a venue renowned for its low-scoring, hosting due to the Indian elections, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium witnessed the pre-tournament favourites humbled on a green surface as Sunil Narine became the fastest bowler to reach 50 tournament wickets by claiming four for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Kolkata’s low total of 163 was built around a solid innings of 72 by South African veteran, Jacques Kallis. Only Lasith Malinga impressed for Mumbai, who only managed to accumulate 122 in reply.
One side that has started with all guns blazing is Bangalore. In their opening match, the Royal Challengers started well, reducing the much-vaunted Delhi Daredevils to a derisory 35-4 in the eighth over. They recovered to reach 145-4 thanks to a recovery from Duminy and Taylor.
In reply, Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli performed better in the red shirts of their adopted team than when batting in the blue of India in the World T20 final. Kohli was dropped twice in reaching 49 not out although it was cancer-survivor, Yuvraj who paced his innings to perfection, ultimately reaching 52 not out off 29 balls, thereby enabling Bangalore to coast home with 20 balls to spare.
In their second match they faced the Mumbai Indians and were again required to chase a total. However, demonstrating their versatility, on this occasion it was their ‘death-bowling’ that squeezed the life out of the Mumbai innings.
While Mitchell Starc and Yuzvendra Chahal received the plaudits for their two wickets apiece, Ashok Dinda choked the life out of Mumbai. In conceding only 14 runs from his four overs Mumbai were restricted to a total of 115 which never looked competitive.
While this time Kohli and Yuvraj both failed, Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers were able to coast home with 2.5 overs to spare. Bangalore may have started well but their batting lineup does look vulnerable if chasing a larger total, although they have achieved these wins without the recovering Chris Gayle.
Another team with a perfect record is Kings XI Punjab, although the strength of their performances have come from the bat. Having conceded a daunting 205 to the flashing blades of Chennai, they needn’t have feared as Glen Maxwell (95 off 43 balls) and David Miller (54no off 37 balls) eased their way home with more than an over to spare. They took few risks, hitting all but five of their boundaries along the floor.
In their second match, against Rajasthan Royals, they again had a large total to chase. However, the Jaipur outfit are not a team you should concede 190 runs against, having the best record in the league when defending a total. However the Kings’ prize batting assets, Maxwell and Miller (or in this modern trend of using acronyms, we could call them the Kings’ M&M’s), chose the aerial route smashing 12 sixes in their partnership of 140 off only 64 balls.
On this occasion Maxwell blasted 89 off 45 balls while Miller reached another undefeated half century off only 19 balls.
Malinga apart, it is disappointing not to see any of the World Cup winning Sri Lankan squad on display, many of the eight franchises opting not to buy the stars due to their unavailability for the whole series.
Yet, the seventh edition of the IPL, back to its original size of eight teams, promises to continue to offer thrills and spills. If you want to watch it, there is still time to book a few days holiday and head to the UAE!
