The Hindu Business Line : Games that spectators play

CRICKET evokes varied emotions, ranging from ardent interest to heaving hatred. There are also the ones who are indifferent to the game, though it is difficult to spot them unless they blurt out to ask if the match is being played in India or Pakistan, or why Rahul is playing in Eden Gardens without going to Parliament. There's nothing unusual, therefore, if grandma at home finds no difference between video games and televised matches, or if the uncle-from-far-off points to the Irfan Pathan poster that your kid has pasted on the wall and asks angrily, "Who is he!"

I've always considered cricket a far better entertainment than politics, though at times one sees more action in the latter. Yet, isn't it preferable that we lose sleep over runs to be scored rather than tossing in bed thinking about Modi's missing visa?

A series such as the current one has as much potential as a mega carnival that millions can plug into at low cost. And the truth is that most of us do get involved, in different ways though. At the low end of the spectrum is the apparently disinterested one whom you can see in the office working and still working even as the others discuss cricket; don't be fooled, for he may be the passive type, tracking the game in his own way.

Then, there are the statisticians; they can reel off data as smoothly as the accountant you hear at income-tax seminars citing section numbers and case references such as `123 ITR 456,' leaving you bowled over. Thus, when statements such as, "He scored 15 off 10 balls, with 3 sixes!" are made by one in the group, normally the others don't dispute; they give the benefit of the doubt to the resident statistician, though a bean counter among them may spot the inconsistency and ask how 3 sixes could make 15. Not everybody has a head for numbers. So, it will be a good change when you come across the technicians who comment on every ball, such as how it was of the right length, and why the slight shoulder movement helped the ball go the way it went to the fence. Often, you may not have any second opinion on such observations, so it is best to consider their views as one more commentary to imbibe.

But some don't comment, they dream of what should have been. Not wishful hallucination such as, "It should have rained," but dissecting analysis, as for instance, "If only he had twisted the wrist, it would have fetched a four. Sourav should have put a fielder in the deep." Alas, that's a world in the subjunctive, and teams don't play all over again, do they?

There are the plain superstitious ones too. I've heard that some people switch off the TVs when Sachin starts playing, because they feel he would be out cheaply as a result, perhaps, of their anxiety. If, in spite of that, he gets out, they curse those who kept the TVs on!

When the match becomes a cliff-hanger, you may hear prayers being said aloud, and don't mind if slokas get mangled or beads roll faster, because it's all in the game.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else," said Albert Einstein. Since those who watch cricket are as much part of the game as those on the field, the game becomes more enjoyable when you watch also the games that spectators play.

SayCheek@TheHindu.co.in

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Games that spectators play