Following a successful act is never easy and they were cynics aplenty on the eve of the second edition of the Indian Premier League. The fact that it was to be held in South Africa and not in India and that it was shifted very late because of reasons everyone is now familiar with, had the doomsday prophets saying that it would come nowhere near its predecessor as far as the entertainment or organizational aspects were concerned.
The BCCI was formed in 1928. How many cricket administrators can you remember? Let me rephrase, how many cricket administrators have done something that you are aware of other than the court cases for forgery, fraud, embezzlement and corruption?
Yes, Modi also has many of those to his name but at least he has done something besides that; and something colossal.
It cannot be denied that Lalit Modi is one of the smartest administrators in world sports. How many people can re-arrange a mega event like IPL in a different country within 48 hours after their own government has squashed all their hopes.
Should the IPL have been postponed or cancelled? Debatable.
At the end of the five-week extravaganza it can be said that the prophets of doom could not have been more off the mark. If anything IPL II provided even more cricket entertainment – the phrase coined by the enormous success of the inaugural edition – and was another feather in Lalit Modi's cap which is already bulging with honours. The ambitious IPL commissioner buoyed by the success of the second edition is already talking of having two IPLs in a year and increasing the number of participating teams to ten by 2011. The latter might be a good idea but not so the former. One IPL a year is just dandy but an overdose will surely kill the enthusiasm for the richest cricket tournament in the world.
Believe me, it could not have been an easy task to shift the IPL lock, stock and barrel at such a late stage. When one considers the sheer logistics and the prohibitive cost involved with such a move it speaks volumes for Modi's confidence and ability to get things done. He certainly created an opportunity out of adversity and was rewarded for his bold and adventurous approach. IPL II was superbly organized and captured the imagination of its new fan base. Indeed the shift rounded off the IPL's international image.
All the same, the opening weekend in Cape Town, with two double-headers on successive days, was sold out. So were the semi-finals, in Centurion and Johannesburg, and the final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. In between, near-capacity crowds attended many of the games, attracted by low prices, the glitz and glamour of the tournament, and the chance to see most of the world's best players in action. The IPL certainly captured the imagination of South African sports followers.
But then the IPL was not just glitz, glamour and big bucks. Amidst all the hype in the ultimate analysis it can be said that the cricketers held centre stage. For me IPL II scored over the inaugural edition simply because it was a more equal contest between bat and ball. On the perfect Indian pitches batsmen were clearly dominant but on the more responsive wickets in South Africa bowlers too had their say. There were fours and sixes galore but there was also the frequent sight of stumps flying and batsmen under pressure miscuing strokes. All this made for engrossing viewing. And the fact that the two bottom teams of last year were the finalists this time and the team that finished in the cellar position a year ago went on to win the trophy only underlined the unpredictable nature of Twenty20 cricket.
But anybody who knows cricket will know IPL or for that matter Twenty20 cannot replace Test cricket or one-day cricket. It never can and it never will. Like most things and people in our lives, they have their own individual places.
Modi's brainchild IPL has been a revolution. It may not be a big success like it was last year but how many will deny the fact that it was an unprecedented spectacle. And it worked for Indian cricket. Unknown players rubbed shoulders with the best in the world.
There is a certain magic about the IPL. One can't wait for the action to begin all over again even though that is a year away. With the T20 World Cup around the corner it will be exciting to see which teams qualify and which teams get knocked out. And will there be any major upsets? Like last year when Zimbabwe beat Australia by 5 wickets
Difficult to pick a winner but my final four are: England, Australia, India & S Africa.