IPL more effective than Samjhauta Express

Yesterday Shoaib Akhtar was allowed to play for the first time in the IPL matches. Playing for Shahrukh Khan’s Calcutta Knight Riders, he put up a wonderful show, winning the Man of the Match. Much to its reputation the Eden Gardens was full to the brim with some 120 thousand people. It’s very natural that the local crowd will cheer for ‘Dada’ Ganguly, but I was enthralled to notice something which is indeed a rare spectacle. Each of the four wickets taken by Shoaib Akhtar was applauded by the crowd hysterically. Have you ever seen any Pakistani player, forget about the fiery Shoaib, being cheered up like this by the Indian crowd? NO!! I think this is something really worth remembering. What Samjhauta Express couldn’t achieve, perhaps, IPL has achieved that – imbibing a feeling of equality and brotherhood for the peoples across the border. Few people have been talking about the awkward situation of National players being pitched against each other in the IPL matches. But at the same time it has brought enemies together. It was such a great sight to see Ganguly hugging Shoaib!!

What politics can’t do, literature, movies, music and now cricket have achieved that with so much finesse. We often forget that Ghulam Ali is not an Indian national. On the other hand Pakistan has bestowed their highest civilian award to Dilip Kumar. There are much more Md. Rafi groups in orkut created by Pakistanis than Indians. And now we have one more such thing – Calcuttans cheering Shoaib as one of their own players!! Thanks IPL for achieving this feat!!

For records, here is the latest tally of points in IPL matches.

Teams	Played	Won	Lost	Points	Net Run Rate
Rajasthan Royals	9	7	2	14	0.592
Punjab Kings	9	6	3	12	0.458
Chennai Superkings	9	6	3	12	0.104
Kolkata Knight Riders	8	4	4	8	0.545
Delhi Daredevils	8	4	4	8	0.500
Mumbai Indians	7	3	4	6	-0.455
Deccan Chargers	9	2	7	4	-0.352
Bangalore Royal Challengers	9	2	7	4	-1.381