T20 Is Here To Stay

On South Africa’s Heritage Day a newborn won the hearts of the millions of cricket fans. It was another story who won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.

For the record, India beat Pakistan by five runs—playing out of their skin under a skipper whose presence is as refreshing as a cool breeze.

When we first heard of the arrival of this flashy dasher of the shortest version of a game long known for its sunbathing opportunities, we held on to our dear tradition. We pooh-poohed the upstart and sang praises of pedigree.

Ah, how often we arrive at wrong conclusions! Pakistani legend Wasim Akram, in an interview some months ago, told me that Twenty20 was just an evening, family affair. How soon have we to change our opinion! The other day he said Twenty20 could be a threat to One-day internationals.

Yes, indeed it can—with apologies to the incorrigibles.

Three and half hours of skill, imagination, power, stamina and heart-in-the-mouth excitement. If it brings back the waning crowd to swell the galleries, why whine about silly reasons?

Brevity is the nucleus of this game. Even its name T20 sounds like an explosive device. Bowlers bowl four-over spells, and by the time you drive from Dubai to Sharjah in peak traffic hours, more than half of the match would be over.

Bravery is the heart of T20. It was a brave move from Indian skipper MS Dhoni to toss the ball to a little-known medium pacer from nowhere, Joginder Sharma, to bowl the final over against the Australians. Five good whacks—we have seen that it is possible—and you’re out of the fray.
Dhoni gambled again with Joginder in the final. Twelve runs in six balls, with Misbah-ul-Haq, who had hit some of lusty sixes in the tournament, twirling his bat, and Dhoni was as courageous as any Rajput. Fortune favours the brave, the old say.

Brilliance is the crowning glory of the game. What else other than brilliance was the root of Yuvraj’s onslaught against young Stuart Board? All through the England-India One-day series a few weeks ago, the young fast bowler, son of former England opener Chris Board, impressed us with some meticulous bowling. And here in Durban, he could only look up to the Heavens for righteousness. He was not at fault—other than not saying no to his skipper to bowl the penultimate over—and Yuvraj showcased his brilliance by playing six proper cricketing strokes for six sixes. Brilliance, what else!
To bowl four miserly overs to some of the rollicking batsmen in a World Cup final, you need abundance of natural brilliance. The way Umar Gul broke the middle of Indian batting line up by snapping up Yuvraj and Dhoni showed brilliance in T20 is not a synonym for batting heroics. Or look at India’s RP Sing or New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori. RP is one of the most improved young fast bowlers whose slant, swing and seam tie the batsmen in knots. Vettori’s success points to the fact that all T20 offers to spinners is not a Titanic fate. Harbhajan’s record till the final supports Vettori’s cause for spinners in the bang-bang game.

One has to play like a rebel against the copybook in T20. There are new strokes that would make a copybook-worm churn. The scoop over fine leg exposes the nakedness of the stumps and displays the spleen of the batsman. The reverse-sweep has been elevated to reverse-pull. The pickup-and-drop shot—remember the way Yuvraj deposited Brett Lee somewhere in the square-leg stands?—is bread-and-butter shot. The cardinal sin of hitting across the line is the lifeline of Twenty20.

The atmosphere at T20 is carnival. There are flags—of all sizes—fluttering. There are dancers who cheer every boundary and wicket. There is noise, there is action—you can’t afford to get a drink from the refrigerator without running the risk of missing out six sixes in an over, hit without any provocation. Don’t venture to change your baby’s napkin, you could miss out a 12-ball fifty.

There are no reasons for Ashraful to spoon a short of good length deliver over the fine-leg for a six other than the mindset. Stuart Board’s boyish face turning a white rose as the fifth six sailed over the ropes from Yuvraj’s furious bat sums up T20.

T20 is not for the feeble-hearted. It has brought excitement back to cricket—the same excitement that we had experienced when India and Pakistan played in Sharjah. We have begun to sit at the edge of the seat or stand up. We have begun to bite our nails.

T20 is not for the chickening-out types. You need to take the bowlers by the scruff off their neck. You need to hurl in toe-crunchers or nippy bouncers. And, you have to field consistently on your toes.

Reputation doesn’t scare anyone. The Australians can be beaten—we saw it three times in this tournament.

T20 is here to stay. On South Africa’s Heritage Day we realised the newborn has a long future.