T20 cricket, too, can be boring

It is not that I disagree with some Tests being mind-numbing and tedious, but the perception of T20 cricket being the most entertaining is not necessarily right all the time.

A segment of cricket fraternity has gone out of synchronisation with Test cricket. They do not seek delight in batsmen leaving the ball. Instead, their adrenaline levels scale up only when the ball soars over the boundary line. There are a few who prefer only ODI and T20I global pieces, in other words, the World Cup, the World T20, and Champions Trophy. And then, there are a bunch of people who watch cricket only when India and Pakistan lock horns. Come to think of it, cricket is no longer divided in formats — Test, ODI, and T20I — but divided on fans’ preferences.

Not to forget there were devotees who used to switch their television sets off as soon as Sachin Tendulkar walked back to the pavilion. However, some of these aspects depend on the brand of cricket. There are some would prefer Virender Sehwag over Tendulkar in T20s and Tendulkar over Sehwag in Tests. Regardless, everything boils down to the quality of cricket, for quality inspires curiosity and curiosity breeds entertainment and entertainment attracts more attention. Therefore, quality cricket, irrespective of the choice of fans, remains the cornerstone.

Virat Kohli did not play his trademark cover-drive in the first T20I between India and England at Kanpur. He came down the track for a change. He chose to loft the ball over the fielders. There was more power than panache. There was more aggression than game-plan. There was complete haste than patience. In fact, there was a lack of cricket in it.

The game entered a new era when ICC envisaged a decline in viewership as well as spectatorship. T20 cricket, already in vogue in England, was taken to a global level to keep fans connected to the game for not more than three hours, and still keep concept of cricket alive. For that matter, it worked wonders as generation Z, born after 2000, took a liking and practiced hitting shots with long handles.

Meanwhile, generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000) as well as the one born before them can comprehend, in all probability, the strokes scripted in the game’s textbook. In addition, their attention span can last for eight hours in a day, for they had grown up on Tests and ODIs. However, all hell breaks lose for generation Z when a batsman plays and misses a delivery.

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The track at Kanpur had rough patches, cracks, and some grass. Though it garnered only 295 runs off 229 deliveries, we saw some quality cricket but only from one side, which is another aspect that determines quality of cricket.

England read the conditions better than the India. Their bowlers mixed up their pace. There were off-cutters and slow bouncers. They knew the ball was not coming onto the bat well. Therefore, the change in pace made it more difficult for Indian batsmen to time the ball past the fielders.

Suresh Raina took the aerial route, just like Kohli. Chris Jordan sent down a nasty bouncer to catch KL Rahul by surprise. Yuvraj Singh got into his shot early, getting a top edge. MS Dhoni played the waiting game, but managed only two boundaries in the last over, making the target look competitive at best. All in all, Indian batsmen were outfoxed by English bowlers.

Moeen Ali’s figures read 4-0-21-2. He bowled straight, not letting the batsmen free their arms. He dismissed Kohli off his first ball and then Manish Pandey to leave Dhoni with the lower middle-order. Tymal Mills, the new kid on the block, consistently clocked 145 kmph. Jordan and Mills’ figures read 4-0-27-1. Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes did their bits, scalping a wicket each. In other words, England bowlers played proper cricket.

India, on the other hand, did not take a leaf out of England’s bowling success despite bating first. Ashish Nehra bowled too full. He leaked 10.33 per over. Debutant Parvez Rasool bowled length balls, allowing Eoin Morgan to hit sixes over deep mid-wicket. Jasprit Bumrah knocked over Joe Root but overstepped, gifting a free hit. Barring Yuzvendra Chahal (2 for 27), no other bowler seemed to have come out with a plan.

Even captain Kohli looked clueless on the field. There was no off-cutter or slow bouncer or mixing of length: India were mediocre.

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Targets over 200 have been chased down in T20Is. There is often very little time left to dish out plan B under pressure. However, seldom have we seen bowlers defend six off the last over, unless you are Sunil Narine who has a slightly bent arm.

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Bowling wide yorkers to Kohli, Dhoni, and Yuvraj in the final of 2014 World T20 was quality cricket by Sri Lanka. But we do not see that often. And even if we do, the bowlers get predictable, eventually failing to produce quality cricket.

T20 cricket does produce last-over thrillers. However, had Misbah-ul-Haq played it down the ground and not scooped it to fine-leg, cricket would have been the winner, for selecting a right shot is quality cricket.

And that is the best part of T20 cricket: it can suck quality cricket out of a quality player in pressure. Of course, the Misbah incident had happened nearly a decade ago. The game has significantly evolved since then.

However, the Kanpur T20I would have attracted more viewers in the final overs had India put up a fight. It would have gone down to the wire had Indian bowlers produced quality cricket.

T20 cricket can be boring as well. Yes, you read that right. It is not that I disagree with some Tests being mind-numbing and tedious, but the perception of T20 cricket being the most entertaining is not necessarily right all the time. More than the format, the entertainment depends on the performances of the players and the intensity of both sides.

In hindsight, the Kanpur T20I would not have yielded boredom had there been quality cricket from both sides, compared to what we witnessed in the ODIs.

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