IPL 4: Nixing a cricket hangover

The build-up to winning the ICC Cricket World Cup finals on April 2 nearly killed us. It also meant that when the Indian Premier League 4 (IPL) started, a mere six days later, most of us couldn't look at another wide ball without vomiting.

A hangover is never easy to handle.

Usually a bottle of Gatorade and an Alka-Seltzer do the trick. But when a collective headache is shared by 1.2 billion subcontinental cricket fans -- you have to just wait it out.

That is the problem facing the IPL this season. A hangover of unprecedented proportions.

It is not an overdose of cricket that's keeping fans from tuning in. It's their slow recovery from a massive victory.

Three back-to-back tough World Cup matches against the aggressive Australians, arch-rival Pakistanis and in-form Sri Lankans -- the last two weeks of the world cup were filled with the stress of scrambling for tickets, expensive last-minute travel plans, fantasy cricket team changes and eight-hour match ordeals.

Then you had the victory and it was a dramatic one. But it took its toll.

Asking fans to tune in to the IPL now is like asking a guy who just climbed Everest to go hiking with you next weekend.

We're barely two weeks into a long tournament and with five weeks left to go, there's no doubt viewership will bounce back. Here’s why -- and all you’ve missed so far.

Hair of the dog 

The Twenty20 IPL game format has some major advantages.

Each IPL match lasts approximately three hours, versus the eight-hour One Day International match haul. Which means you come home from work and, rather than watching news about the latest scam, you enjoy a quick, competitive game starring some of the best players in the world and then you go to bed.

IPL tickets are easier and cheaper to get than they were during the recent World Cup. Fans can buy tickets online for the IPL at more than reasonable rates. Vijay Merchant stand tickets at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium were available for Rs 1,875. Touts were scalping tickets at Rs 50,000 for the World Cup final for similar seats.

IPL matches are an outing for parents and their kids. I was at the Mumbai match on Friday evening and saw a number of fathers with their young sons watching Tendulkar score a century.

Country-wide school examinations will be over soon and this will be a popular summer vacation activity.

Matches start at 8 p.m., making it easier for parents to attend or watch on television after work.

If early results are any indication this will be a competitive fourth season.

Teammates have switched around a lot post the player auction and suddenly the minnow teams aren’t too bad and the expected winners aren’t as impressive.

Bangalore, which was one of the hottest teams last year, are on a three-game losing streak, and at the bottom of the league table. They'll need to turn around quickly to stand a chance.

Last year’s finalists and tournament favorites Chennai and Mumbai both looked good going in this year, but both suffered losses which exposed major weaknesses in the teams.

For example, Mumbai’s bowling unit looked positively boyish against team Kochi. If Malinga indeed goes back to Sri Lanka, the Indians will have a tough road ahead.

Of the two new teams this year, Sahara Pune Warriors are already number two in the standings.

Kochi started slow but then surprisingly beat both favorites Mumbai and Chennai. Could their secret weapon be those horrendously distracting orange and purple uniforms?

Delhi doesn’t have a shot and Rajasthan is always a mixed bag. The Royals can dazzle you with their skills and amaze you with their ability to fold; right now they're level with two wins and two losses.

Then there are what I call the Bollywood teams.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Preity Zinta’s Punjab Kings XI.

KKR have been the biggest surprise so far. The perenially disappointing team is suddenly on a three-game winning streak and leads the league table. They look ready to make a run at it. Could this be Shah Rukh’s year?

The boys from Punjab were similarliy supposed to be one of the worst sides, and in their first match they lived up to their reputation. But then an unknown player named Paul Valthaty changed everything. The Punjab all-rounder is the hottest cricketer in the IPL right now and could be this year’s Murali Vijay. Watch out.

It's still too early to call. And there's plenty of time to find out where you can get a hold of some of that newly launched Tsingtao Chinese beer in the meantime.

As we move in to the second week of May and the second half of the tournament, we will see the return of the IPL. It’s a big money cricket tournament and it's in India, you can bank on it.