My IPL Loyalty Equations
Living without a TV and a newspaper has many merits. For instance, last year’s IPL was a non-event in our house. Yes, we did visit a Barista at Indira Nagar (now long closed) for catching the IPL opening ceremony on the telly, but that was it. Bangalore’s loss in the opener didn’t help either and I ended up backing up the team I felt least connected to - Rajasthan Royals (though only after they were decidedly close to winning - everybody loves a winner).
This year is different though. I’ve warmed up to the tournament, mostly because cricket is a large part of what I do now but partly because I seem to have arrived at a complex set of “loyalty” equations that help me chose which team I put my money on during a match. Without going into too many details, this is how it works:
Bangalore Royal Challengers (I live in Bangalore! And I admire Kumble and Dravid. And Kevin Pietersen is no longer in the team.) > Chennai Super Kings (I admire Dhoni. Muralitharan and I share birth dates) > Deccan Chargers (I am partial to everything south of Vindhyas) > Rajasthan Royals (Love the fact that Warne gives a lot of chances to inexperienced youngsters) > Delhi Daredevils (ah well, I was born in Delhi and that ought to count for something) > Mumbai Indians (Mostly because they’ve got Tendulkar and Jayasuriya) > Punjab Kings XI (someone’s gotta give company to Kolkata) = Kolkata Knight Riders (well someone’s got to be last).
The equations are devoid of even traces of cricketing knowledge (oh come on, it is 20-20) and chances are that the points table at the end of the tournament (with the exception of Kolkata) looks totally the opposite.