Was Gayle's 175* really that exceptional in cricketing context?
In the Indian Express, Mini Kapoor reflects on Gayle's 175*, and wonders whether the innings can truly be characterized as one of the greatest ever played in the history of the game
25-Apr-2013
Indian Express' Mini Kapoor reflects on Gayle's 175* blitzkrieg and whether or not its significance is diluted by the excess of cricket that is IPL. With matches seemingly rolling into one another day after day, what does this innings truly represent in the grand scheme of things? Kapoor brings about comparisons with watershed moments of the past in the T20 format, and those of Tests, and investigates whether or not we can catapult his innings into the higher echelons of the greatest ever played as a whole.
Spectacle is the essence of the "best" here, and as we frown at yet another season that's affirmed that this beast called the IPL is here to stay -- if not as-is, then certainly in an avatar far morphed from the Test form -- it is time we began to apply ourselves to finding a way of appraising its worthiest participants. Because, if you drop the judgemental attitude of placing T20 (and especially IPL) beyond the pale of what you'd care to describe as real cricket, there are two attributes of this new form that alter traditional indices of determining what's exceptional and what is simply spectacle -- that is, good to watch but not really memorable