Cricket 102: T20, India, and Indian Premier League
We know from Cricket 101 that Cricket is a hugely popular sport across the world. Over the years, fans across the world found that the sport was inaccessible and stadium attendance showed a massive drop for domestic games. Therefore, in the early 2000s, a study in England concluded that shortening the duration of the game would bring folks, who’ve never been to cricket matches before, to the stadium. And thus, a new format called Twenty20 (T20) was born.
Formats of cricket:
- Test Cricket: A total of 4 innings, 2 for each team. Played over a duration of 5 days or until teams get out, whichever is first.
- One-Day Cricket: Two innings, one for each team. Each team can bat for 50 overs or until the team gets 10 outs, whichever is first. One over = 6 deliveries (like pitches in Baseball). Duration: Usually one day, as the name suggests.
- T20 Cricket: Two innings, one for each team. Each team can bat for 20 overs or until the team gets 10 outs, whichever is first. One over = 6 deliveries (like pitches in Baseball) Duration: Usually three hours or less.
The first T20 match was played between various counties in England in 2003, and the first international match was played in 2005 between Australia and New Zealand. It looked it this new format wasn’t taken seriously and it was a party on the field minus alcohol. That reputation would stick even after the announcement of the first T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007. Teams thought “We don’t want to waste time with this new format, this is stupid. We already have our One-Day teams, we’re good!” India, almost reluctantly, had to be dragged into the World Cup. A very young team of new players was sent over expecting nothing out of it, and India ended up lighting the world cup.
Click here for a clip of 6 sixers in a single over (say, 6 consecutive home runs?) in a match between India and England from that world cup.
In a final with Pakistan, longtime cricketing rival, India went on to win the first ever T20 world cup. With a billion people celebrating the win, this new format was, all of a sudden, taken very seriously. Seriously to the extent that, India went from reluctantly sending a team, to establishing a domestic T20 league the very next year, called the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Bollywood stars bought IPL franchises and all of a sudden, T20 became a mix or cricket and films, two of the things that India loves the most. The league now provided some amazing fast-paced entertainment and attracted players from all over the world. It was thought that we’re now getting to watch a 3-hour movie LIVE in the form of cricket. The sport now had a prime-time TV product, and this model was followed by other countries.
Currently, there are 8 teams from various culturally diverse cities across the country that play in the IPL.
- Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the largest cultural, economic and educational centers of south India and home to The Marina Beach, considered to be the world’s second longest urban beach.
- Delhi, officially known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India.
- Mohali, officially known as Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, is a city in the state of Punjab, named after Sahibzada Ajit Singh, the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh – the 10th Sikh Guru.
- Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the prime business, commercial, and financial hub of eastern India.
- Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial, commercial capital of India and the home to Bollywood.
- Jaipur is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is also known as the Pink City and is a part of the popular Indian Golden Triangle Tourist Circuit along with New Delhi and Agra.
- Bangalore, officially known as Bengaluru, is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka and is regarded as the Silicon Valley of India.
- Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is also known as the City of Pearls.
Among the current teams in play, Mumbai Indians are the reigning champions and have won the league the most number of times, followed by Chennai Super Kings and then the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The matches are usually played in the Spring, from March/April to May, but due to COVID-19, the tournament was postponed and eventually moved out of India. It started on September 19th and will go on until November 10th in the United Arab Emirates behind closed doors without fans. The UAE cities, Dubai, Abhu Dhabi and Sharjah will be the host cities for all the games.
Click here to watch video clips of the game.
The popularity of the IPL has also resulted in plans to launch a $1 Billion T20 league in the US in 2021. I’m excited to follow the remainder of the IPL matches and hoping to watch some of the US T20 league matches in person, as and when it takes off.
About the author: Sid Thatham was an international graduate student from India at the University of Cincinnati, where he worked towards a Master’s in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. He currently works as an Energy Engineer for the Department of Utilities at university’s Power Plant. He is an ardent cricket fan, and, in this blog, he shares some history and basic rules of the sport.
