Editorial: When the willows get cracking

For Indian cricket fanatics, the last two-and-a-half months have flown rather quickly, thanks to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the World Test Championship (WTC) final. While the March-May period offered plenty of nail-biting T20 action and a few snoozefests, the beginning of June was filled with gripping Test match battles.It is hard to believe that it has been over 70 days since eventual IPL 2023 champion Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans walked onto the field at a noisy Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The two teams would go on to clash once again at the same venue at the end of May, this time for the coveted IPL trophy. They did not disappoint one bit and delivered an all-time classic, in which Chennai edged out Gujarat off the final delivery of the tournament to clinch its record-equalling fifth IPL crown.

From start to finish, the fans had much to celebrate. Resumption of normal services meant that venues were allowed to hold a capacity crowd, which was not the case in the previous three seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Be it at Eden Gardens, MA Chidambaram Stadium or Wankhede Stadium, the spectators, who managed to get through the ticket-booking slugfest, came out in good numbers to watch their heroes do the thing they do best.

Every evening, those at home were glued to either their television sets or electronic devices. With the television and digital broadcasters doing everything in their power to pull the majority of the audience to one side, the fans were left with plenty of options. The digital broadcaster went the extra mile, offering quality live coverage for free.

On the field, players, who have made the tournament what it is today, served up a feast. MS Dhoni expertly guided Super Kings all the way, ‘Prince’ Shubman Gill took the cricketing world by storm and the 38-year-old Faf du Plessis proved that age is just a number.

The Titans trio of Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma and Rashid Khan picked up wickets for fun, ‘miracle man’ Rinku Singh did the unthinkable and Ravindra Jadeja held his nerve under immense pressure to deliver a title-winning performance.

A few days after the conclusion of the IPL, the focus shifted to the WTC showdown between India and Australia in London. The fans put their IPL allegiances aside to support the national team that was competing in the WTC final for the second successive time. They showered their love from afar but were left disappointed as India stumbled in the last hurdle yet again.

The defeat will deeply hurt them and with India set for a break – its next assignment in the West Indies will begin only on July 12 – the crushing loss will haunt them for weeks, maybe even months or years. For fans in this state, the Tamil Nadu Premier League could act as an escape route to forget the horror days in London.