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By Sunil Sarpal

Indian Premier League will soon draw to a close for this season. Let’s see what the Halla Gulla called IPL was all about

It happens once in a calender year and bring lot of fun and joy to cricket world. On every TV set in a home, this tussel between bat and ball is fought, providing great entertainment to the viewers of the game. The game is also a reminder that it belongs to young legs. Ageing has no room in this game which is on a fast lane.

Often viewers remember those that are no more, but were star cricketers during their playing days.
Dean Jones, Aussie
Malcom Marshal, WI
Martin Crow, NZ
Alas, cruel death ended their journey mid-way, depriving followers of their incredible presence and charisma.

IPL pays an astronomical amount of money to the players – thanks to IPL franchisees. On the basis of players’ performance over a period of time, they are auctioned by franchisees at huge amounts. Even after the auctioned player loses his touch and his performance dips, he remains on the bench and still paid the committed amount.

It has become a joy to watch IPL matches because music is played in the background. It is full entertainment. These days commentators provide lot of stories, past experiences and also discuss spats between players. Such things bind the viewers to TV sets.

Young guns join shoulders with foreign players and get lot of international experience. Players like Nitish Rana, Ishaan Kishan and Rinku Singh are the stars in making. Cricket is in the blood of followers and they enjoy this soap opera much more than Saas and Bahu episodes on TV.

By Sunil Sarpal

Posting this historical article a day after in the INDIA vs West Indies, Women’s T20 World Cup match, India beat West Indies by 6 wickets!

That is the see-saw battle of this game. That’s what makes it so interesting. There came a phase in the history of men’s cricket when all the cricket playing nations boasted of 2-3 genuinely quick and skillful bowlers in their line up.  The very sight of these bowlers was intimidating  because they were possessing such a variety in their repertoire which even the most accomplished batsmen could not withstand.   It took the game of cricket to altogether different level.  These quickies were always on the throat of the batsman so that the hapless batsman had no respite.  The 6 ft plus barging in from the boundary line with red cherry in hand can lead to shiver down the spine of a batsman.   How can a batsman face, put aside, withstand, barrage of bouncers one after the other.  This was some sort of suicide type of cricket facing these quickies with 150 plus speed.  

West Indies had an unbelievable line-up consisting of 

Malcom Marshal

Joel Garner

Any Roberts

Michael Holding

Croft etc. etc. 

Pakistan’s challenge rests with Cap. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis.

Australia had the fearsome duo of Deniss Lillee and Jeffery Thompson. 

England spearheads were Ian Botham and Wills. 

New Zealand had the services of undisputed talented Sir Richard Hadlee and Chatfield. 

India too had Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar.  

When we talk of competition, West Indies were undisputed champs, head and shoulders above in pace and variations.  On the face of their battery of fast bowlers, other teams were found just chockers.  They ruled the cricket world like roaring lions and their roar was deafning and debilitating for the opposition.  West Indies Team was studded with charismatic individuals either with bat or ball.  Their line-up challenged all the teams in their own den and humiliated them like never before. They made mockery of opposition on the field of cricket and tasted them dust.  

The line-up of West Indies team was :-

GORDAN GRINIDGES,  DESMOND HAYNES,  VIV RICHARDS,  CLIVE LLOYD (C) ,  LARRY GOMES   (OR ALWIN KALICHARAN),  JEFFERY DUJON,  ANDY ROBERTS,  MICHAEL HOLDING,  MALCOM MARSHAL,  JOEL GARNER, GIBBS  AND CROFT.  

They were all stars in their chosen field.  Perhaps in the history of cricket, such a combination of batsmen and bowlers never got together in unison.  

It was their captain Clive Lloyd who for the first time in the history of cricket introduced 4-pronged fast bowling attack.  It paid rich divident  to West Indies so that they ruled the world over a decade or so.