The Great Cricket Tamasha has finally come to an end. Undoubtedly it’s been a superb entertainer. People were rooting for their favourite teams. But what were the factors that helped them chose their teams?
If somewhere it was a city based loyalty, then some supported their favourite cricketer and the team he was playing for. And some backed a team because of its good run in the tournament.
But, there was still a segment of people who didn’t know whom to support. They belonged to some city, liked a cricketer playing in other franchise while some third team was having a dream run. So what do they do with so many unknown faces taking on the established stars?
Seriously they didn’t do anything and kept wondering who was playing and which team did he belong to. They definitely did not support anyone and could not sustain their interest in the tournament for long. They simply gave up only to return in large numbers for the semi-finals and the final.
According to a report from Measurement and Analytics ltd, 24 million people watched the final match on Sunday.
The Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders had an outstanding opening in the tournament, both on and off the field. The on field credit goes to hurricane innings from Brendon McCullum and off the field show stealer was none other the owner himself. Interestingly, there was a group that supported Kolkata only because SRK happened to be their favourite actor.
The weirdest and funniest of all Kolkata supporters was the one who backed the team because he found their jersey very cool. Surely, this guy gave all cricketing logics run for their money.
One team that started from zero fan base, sans any filmstar and perhaps with a little support from their own state, went on to win the IPL title. They now boast of a huge fan following. No prizes for guessing, it’s Rajasthan Royals. They played as a unit and amazed one and all. And people who had written them off were seen applauding coyly.
The other day when Punjab beat Mumbai by one run at Wankhede Stadium, Yuvraj was apparently hurt with the jeers from the crowd and reminded them some of Punjab lads playing for India. Similarly, Dravid felt awkward when Mumbai fans remained silent after he hit a boundary. These international cricketers are so used to the nation wide support that this regional bias was hard for them to accept.
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