IPL 2 for dummies, was not played in India. It was caught up with so many controversies that it had to be moved out. Reasons quoted were lack of Security and the Lok Sabha Elections. However, our beloved Lalit Modi, took the contest to its second home, South Africa! Well, it sounded weird and lame, at the same time! Indian Premier League in SA, BCCI must be nuts!
But Modi pulled off the event like a magician pulling out bunnies from his tall hat! Yes, the IPL 2, according to me, has been quite a treat for cricket frenzy fans! The South African pitches which varied in bounce, and pace had made it a quality concious tournament! the 8 regionally titled teams, were out there again, some in new colors, to fight it out for the rubies and diamond studded trophy (Actually, it looks more like the Map of India carved out from Thermacoal, sprinkled with gold sparklers!).
This IPL witnessed a change of fortunes. If you haven't heard the track titled 'Nice Guys Finish Last' by Greenday, or if you ever questioned it's applicability, here was your answer... 'Last Guys Finish First' was what this IPL was all about. Royal Challengers of Bangalore and the blue-clad Deccan Chargers made it to the finals of the mega event this year! However, it was the Deccan Chargers walking away with the trophy.
Controversially speaking, this IPL was better! I mean, we witnessed quite some action off the field last IPL like the Sreesanth slapgate issue. This time, It was more of the owners getting into tangles!!! Ness Wadia and MD Burman of Kings XI Punjab got beaten up by a South African businessman, Shah Rukh was publicly referred to as Dildo by a player from his own team, and yeah, I almost forgot the Preity-Ness breakup!!!
Yeah, and talking about ads, we witnessed the rise of the Zoozoos, above the Deepikas and Katrinas in the TRPs... Oh! Anybody questioning the old wine? Well, you better dont! Anil Kumble, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, retired Intl. players, set the cards rolling in IPL 2.... There was a gush of young adrenaline, with Manish Pandey becoming the only Indian to score an IPL century!
So, to sum it all up, this year's IPL was a mixture of Indian talent, both young and old. Indians fared much better in the South African pitches, than they did in the Indian conditions last year!
