It is the shorter version of the game. Maybe it’s meant to be a three-hour cricket movie. Perhaps entertainment is the driving force behind this. Perhaps the rules made here or not made are not in the spirit of the game. Maybe cheerleaders, glamorous girls, and cricket jockeys are there to give you more than just bats and balls. But ultimately, what is played on the field is still cricket. And cricket appears to have triumphed in season 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) having fun in South Africa, April-May 2009.

There have been very close, very close and exciting matches and the nail-biting finishes go all the way to the last ball. There have been ups and downs in the rankings and performances of the teams. Of the eight teams, four advance to the semifinals. With the exception of Delhi Daredevils, the remaining three positions are still up for grabs with only ten days left for the tournament, as of May 14, 2009.

The May 14 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was a fantastic result for IPL 2. All the essential ingredients of cricket were there. The glorious uncertainties, the sudden drops and rebounds, and to continue being anyone’s game until the last ball. Along with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), RCB was almost canceled. But Anil Kumble, a veteran player with a fighting spirit and positive aggression, arrived as team captain and since then there have only been victories. This victory was all the more significant as it came against CSK, the last IPL runner-up and the strongest contender for the title. CSK also had Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain. The team’s starter, Matthew Hayden, had also been playing great cricket. Thanks to this victory, RCB is once again competing for the first four places.

Cricket does not need the flavored toppings to be served. Basically a tournament that became a huge hit in cricket-mad India and filled mainly with Indian cricket icons and promising youngsters moved to South Africa and was even crushed there by the crowd. This was for the spirit of cricket. Cricket will always triumph, be it the longest or the shortest version, as long as it doesn’t come down to a mockery.