Random thoughts from the first leg

This is my ninth day in India, so I thought it was time to take stock and pass on a few things I’ve learned …

1) Cricketers don’t look good dressed as gladiators (or is it Roman soldiers?). An illustrated advert in today’s Hindu depicts Muttiah Muralitharan, Matthew Hayden, a moody-looking Stephen Fleming (well, he was left out of Chennai’s match against Kings XI Punjab) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni wearing leather tunics and brandishing swords. Hmm.

2) Cheerleaders remain an elusive concept. They have either attracted angry letters to newspapers or been out-cheer-led by young men in the crowd. “We want cheerleaders” was one of the more coherent efforts at the Wankhede on Sunday. Last night at steamy Hyderabad, they even seemed to be wearing brown tights. A concession to local sensibilities, perhaps?

3) Sony Max, the Indian broadcasters of the IPL, will continue to insist that the spectators are “going wild”, even as the camera pans over a quiet-looking crowd in the break between innings. “Oh, they’re having a whale of a time,” enthuses the presenter.

4) Never accept a lift from someone who approaches you in an airport.

5) Bowlers are better investments than batsmen. Everyone in this competition, it seems, can clear the small boundaries. But not everyone can put the ball where they want to, time after dot-ball-inducing time. The Daredevils’ Glenn McGrath has bowled two of the competition’s three maidens and ended up on the winning side in both games.

6) The players do care. We wondered how much they would, but their professionalism, competitive spirit, desire to prove themselves to foreign team-mates, and fear of warming the bench for the next seven weeks has brought out the best in them.

7) The paddle over short fine leg is here to stay. People say it isn’t proper cricket, but what’s proper cricket if it isn’t using all 360 degrees?

8) The stars have no shame, and I’m not talking about the cricketers. Asked what her level of involvement with her Kings XI Punjab side was ahead of their game with Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, Preity Zinta thought for a moment before saying: “My level of involvement is that I’m here.” She might want to buck her ideas up: the Kings XI have lost two out of two.

9) Ed Smith’s new book, What Sports Tells Us About Life, is really very good. Here’s one of the most perceptive and – for the IPL – relevant sentences: “If we like a game how it is, or how it has become, we must make sure we preserve what is good even as we accept the inevitability of change.”

10) Sachin Tendulkar’s son is called Arjun. The wife of Mukesh Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians, is called Nita. Mohammad Azharuddin’s wife is called Sangeeta. I know this thanks to the in-depth newspaper coverage of the people watching the games, but I’m less sure about the identity of some of the cricketers.