Tag Archives: IPL

I THINK Afghanistan THREW The Semi-Final To Avoid The Risk Of Facing India In The Final!

by Anura Guruge
on June 27, 2024

Click to **ENLARGE**. Base image from ‘**Google News**‘.

Yes, this is (atypically) NOT an original thought on my part. It has already been aired a few days ago.

I watched a fair chunk of the Afg vs SA semi-final live last night on ‘Willow TV‘. I was kind of shocked. Afghanistan, when batting, looked lacklustre. Half-hearted. All out for 56!

I am DELIGHTED for ‘South Africa‘. No secret that I am HUGE fan of the South African cricket team. To I they come across as a very united, committed team that genuinely play for their country, each other & their fans. You don’t see that with the West Indies. They do NOT have a country to unite them — or play for!

I also worry about the Afghan team. That they CHEATED, blatantly, in the previous match, against Bangladesh, upsets me greatly. I don’t like MY cricket being besmirched. So, there is also the Instant Karma aspect. They deserved to lose.

But, in the end I can’t stop thinking that MANY of the Afghan players were fretting about their LUCRATIVE IPL contracts. They didn’t want to risk facing India. IF they threw that match — THE FINAL — it would have looked bad. This was an easier option.

I could be wrong. Just what crossed my mind — BUT then again, I am not alone. SMILE.

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U.S. Professional Cricket ‘Major League’ Makes A Very Poor Font Selection — Harms Credibility.

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by Anura Guruge
on February 16, 2024

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Click to **ENLARGE**. I got this in an e-mail this morning.

Click to **ENLARGE**. ***Link to the Website***.

I get e-mails from them. So, I got the above this morning. I started to glance through the ‘New York’ list. ‘Rashid HHan‘? Ah! That is how I saw it … read it. The ‘K’ looked just like an ‘H’. I started looking through.

I HONESTLY thought they had screwed up BIG TIME & got the names wrong.

It was ONLY when I looked at the names, again, more carefully that I realized that it was FONT ISSUE.

Come on!

Really, really, really BAD FONT choice.

How could they NOT have spotted that. Wow!

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The U.S. Now REALLY Has A Proper, Professional Cricket League, With 2 Grounds & TV Coverage.

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by Anura Guruge
on July 11, 2023

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Contrary to what many Americans know & realize cricket has been in the U.S. since at least the 1920 — when British actors coming to Hollywood set up cricket teams.

I played cricket in Boston in the 1990s. You could see weekend cricket games in D.C. around that ear too.

Now with all the Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans & those from the Caribbean living in the U.S., it was inevitable.

I have been falling the rise of ‘Major League Cricket‘, the U.S. professional league, since its formation a few years ago.

Yes, we have had a few T20 games in the last few years.

This year, starting in a couple of days, we will have a proper T20 League — a micro-version of the ‘IPL‘. There is even a team that has ripped off a IPL Team logo!

This is GREAT. NOT this year, but one of these days I will try to make it to North Carolina to watch a game live. I have not see a professional, LIVE cricket match since c. 1997.

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ESPN+ Doing A Decent Job, So Far, Providing 15-Minute Highlights Of The “ICC Men’s T20 World Cup”.

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by Anura Guruge
on October 20, 2022

Click to **ENLARGE**. Picture from my TV last night.

Failure to do HIGHLIGHTS was the biggest drawback of cricket coverage on ESPN+.

Then, no doubt under commercial pressure from India, they started — grudgingly & stutteringly — doing 12-minute highlights for ‘IPL 2022’. That must have been well received. Then they started doing highlights of ALL games involving India. Yep, just for India & Indians.

I was real worried that they wouldn’t do highlights for the T20 World Cup. But, they have. I can’t be 100% sure but I think they have done all the games. At some point I will have to go back & check.

Their highlights aren’t bad either. They must have hired Indians to do it. I think 15 minutes highlights are a tad on the short side. 20 minutes would be Goldilocks. But, for now I am happy. Lets wait & see if they end up doing all the games. With the IPL, earlier this year, they didn’t do highlights on the matches that took place on the first weekend. I wrote & complained.

ESPN+ Providing ‘Tata IPL 2022’ Highlights Did NOT (Alas) Last For Long.

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by Anura Guruge
on April 4, 2022

The IPL 2022 Highlights were like clockwork until last Friday (April 1, 2022) — Match 8: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Junjab Kings (PBKS). Then they stopped. Damn.

I spoke too soon.

On Sunday (i.e., April 3) I CALLED & spoke to an ESPN+ Rep. He didn’t fully understand the whole issue BUT he was sympathetic. He called up the ‘International Division’ etc. He promised to escalate it. A few hours later ONE new highlight (in both languages) popped-up.

But, highlights of the 2 Saturday matches are still missing.

Maybe the folks that do highlights don’t work on weekends! Would that be possible. WOW.

ESPN+ Doing A Good Job Providing ‘Tata IPL 2022’ Highlights (& Full Coverage) In The U.S.

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by Anura Guruge
on March 28, 2022

Click to **ENLARGE**. From the official ***‘IPL’ website***.

Until earlier this year ESPN+ failed to provide HIGHLIGHTS of the cricket matches they covered. It did NOT matter whether it was a Test, an ODI or T20I — they only provided the full, ball-by-ball coverage. This meant that it was pretty useless to most of us. However much we love cricket, most of us don’t have the time to watch 5- to 7-hours of ball-by-ball coverage. Even watching a T20I, which I enjoy, requires around 4-hours. This is why they have cricket highlights.

Though I subscribe to ESPN+ (& Willow) for the cricket, I had despaired of ESPN+. I love Willow’s coverage — BUT they, increasingly, are getting squeezed out, like with the IPL.

So, I was AMAZED & DELIGHTED to see, a few weeks ago, that ESPN+ had started doing highlights — both in English & Hindi — albeit, just for matches involving India. ESPN+, obviously, was bowing to pressure from the huge Indian fan base. I was glad. This was a start.

Their highlights, at present, are under 15-minutes — those for the IPL just under 14-minutes. To I, that is a tad too short. 1-hour highlights used to be the norm. But, I have noticed that even Willow is making 25-minute highlights. I think 30-minutes should be the mark.

That said, I, so far, having watched the first three IPL 2022 matches, have liked the 14-minute highlights. That worked out real well, yesterday, when we had two matches. I could fit in the highlights for both.

So, just want to pass this along given that I know that there are millions of folks in the U.S. who want to watch decent IPL highlights.