IPL T20 5

Chinnaswamy

The Chinnaswamy Stadium, home of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, is a short walk from our house. In cheerful echoes of our last flat, close to the Oval, we can occassionally hear the crowds (or music, or fireworks...). We've also taken the opportunity to go to several matches over the last few weeks. My evenings at home, with away matches on the tv, have often been punctuated by shrieks of delight, and texting my brother to compare notes on run rates and which batsman needs to sort himself out and start running.

The Indian Premier League's fifth season is just coming to a close. Much hyped, the league has more or less successfully survived complaints about the format (twenty20 as opposed to test cricket), disrupting the international schedule and elevating cricket players to the same overpaid celebrity as the premier league at home. To say nothing of the second season's swift relocation to South Africa following security concerns about the Indian general election.

Our local team, much to my disgust, lost their chance to go to the playoffs by losing abysmally to the Deccan Chargers, who had spent much of the short season languishing at the bottom of the table.

Tonight another south Indian team, the Chennai Super Kings, take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. My allegiances are torn, as CSK took 'our' slot (albeit which we failed to claim). I'm quite sad about the gaps in TV scheduling it will leave, although watching the England team take on the West Indies may help in the short term.

Then in the autumn England will be touring here... fingers crossed for a match in Bangalore!

A real fan.

** With thanks to Thomas for technical advice, support and explanation. A short guide to cricket available on request; pre-tested on several Americans.