Bemused Cape Town watches IPL take off

Sachin Tendulkar said it best as he reflected on Mumbai Indians' opening-day win over Chennai Super Kings at Newlands: "I hate comparisons." A South African stadium with a capacity of 18,000 on a damp evening - even one watched over by Table Mountain - was always going to struggle to compete with the pyrotechnics of Bangalore a year ago. And yet, outside India, this was probably as good as it was going to get.

Truth be told, the Cape Town public didn't quite know what to make of an opening day that did well to start on time after drizzle had threatened to delay, fell behind schedule after a dog ran on to the pitch and spent the next 11 minutes foiling the high-security operation, and was more than hour off the pace by the time the opening ceremony began with the eight franchise captains signing the MCC's Spirit of Cricket declaration.

The problem was a familiar one: who to support? Last year, the people of Bangalore had to get excited about the adopted Kolkatan Brendon McCullum's destruction of their own team, and generally did their best. Today, there was a decent smattering of Indian faces in the crowd, but the overall mood was of a city curious to see what all the fuss was about rather than glued to the edge of their seats. It was little surprise when the largest cheer of the day came as JP Duminy, a son of Strandfontein on the Cape Flats, walked out to bat for Mumbai Indians. Capetonians needed a focal point: Duminy obliged.

Other features felt rather more contrived. The request by Rajasthan Royals for their followers to don fake moustaches in honour of its mascot lion was only sporadically obeyed, and the exhibitionism that is instinctive to Indian cricket crowds was largely missing. As the country prepares for Wednesday's general election, one well-oiled local, spotting Lasith Malinga on the Mumbai team balcony, roared "Lasith for President". But otherwise the mood was a reminder that cricket never feels more alive than when it is being watched in India.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings, certainly felt as much. "Nothing compares to what happened last year in India," he said. "Whether we were in Chennai or Hyderabad, the crowd appreciated cricket and clapped for everyone. Most of the teams will miss the support and the noise and performing in front of 50-60,000 people who are at their best when they are being vocal."

That may have been a bit harsh on a city whose cricket lovers are regarded as the most knowledgeable in South Africa. Then again, Newlands was not the sellout Modi had promised, with the empty seats in the members stand looking especially culpable. And a claim earlier in the week by one of the organisers of the opening ceremony that it would be "pretty much what we saw last year" inevitably turned into a hostage to fortune.

Modi told a crowd that had gamely stayed on for the post-match activities that he saw around him "joy, humility, pride and gratitude". The first three of those abstract nouns were fair enough, if a touch schmaltzy; the last was downright patronising. And when he quoted an old Buddhist saying - "a flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all" - the temptation was to wince quietly. All in all, he flattered his hosts to within an inch of their lives; all in all, they responded politely.

Rock band Snow Patrol performed a couple of numbers, some people dressed as giant butterflies wandered around amiably, acrobats threw each into the air, roller-skaters went round in circles, and all the while the players milled around on the outfield. The light show was a brave attempt to recreate the dynamism and optimism of the opening night in Bangalore a year ago. But however much the organisers tried, they faced one insurmountable problem: Cape Town never was, and never will be, in India.