Indian Premier League is India’s (most) Popular Leisure activity. It’s the Impossible to Possible Laboratory of cricket, brought to you in the most Incredible Punny Language – see, it’s already catching on.
And if you apply the three-language formula to it, you end up having even more fun, although you don’t always understand everything that is being said: You don’t need to – cricket has its own universal language where action on the field and reaction in the commentary box are enough for us to enjoy.
Watch the battle of the Supers—Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK), last Sunday and listen to the Star Sports-Jio Hotstar commentary in English, Hindi and then in Tamil — “Oh ho ho ho ho… a stunning six…gagan chumbi chhakka… superb shot-ah! Thala Paglu!”
Cut to a cleverly edited shot of a CSK fan beating his chest as MS hits a “Dhoni special” and the commentator in Hindi croons: “Dhoni Dhoni goonj raha hai Lucknow ke ghar mein…” (Dhoni Dhoni echoes through Lucknow’s home ground). Cut to Preity Zinta, the owner of Punjab Kings, applauding and dancing on the spot, cut to the team dug out…
We are almost midway through the 18th season of IPL, and it’s the best stress buster invented since yoga—ok, joking. What has made the outrageous exploits of the players on the field such fun are the verbal antics of the commentary team in the box. You can hear them in 12 languages—and, occasionally, watch the highlights in sign language.
Take away the likes of Aakash Chopra, Matthew Hayden, Ian Bishop, or Jatin Sapru from the game and IPL will only be about bat and ball and boundaries and wickets—with the background score provided by the audience.
With the ball-by-ball commentary, it is “night on fire”. The commentators add the lyrics to the deafening sound of loud roars as bat hits the ball, or ball hits the timber.
Expression of appreciation
Take nothing away from the players: They are making the improbable probable late into every night. If it’s not Dhoni and (Shivam) Dube snatching victory over the LSG on Sunday, it’s Kohli cantering home for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Rajasthan Royals—and what can you possibly say about the Hyderabad hydros—nicknamed ‘Travishek’ by the commentators—who scored 171 runs for the opening wicket against Punjab Kings and led their team to a heart-stopping victory chasing 245 runs.
It was a joy to watch what one commentator in Hindi called the “factory of sixes” from the two batters—and to other extraordinary exploits: Over 30 cameras bring you live visuals, there are the ultra-motion cams, spider cams for aerial shots, which “touch the sky and sparkle with the stars”, besides our good friend Hawk-Eye for LBW decisions.
With fours and sixes zipping to all sides of the cricket field, the commentary team has been reduced to inarticulate expressions of appreciation: “Aaah ha ha ha ha, Oooh, Oh ho ho ho, Arre re re re, Oho bhaiya, Oh balle balle…”
A variation is ‘Wah’, “Arre wah”, “wah re wah re wah” and “wow”.
In Tuesday’s game between PBKS and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the improbable was made probable by bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal and Marco Jansen. When Jansen took the final KKR wicket, the commentator in Punjab let out an almighty roar, a cross between a lion and a tiger—“AAAaaargh…!”
In Haryanvi, the box trembled with squeals of delight as batter after batter trundled back to the pavilion—in both innings.
You would have been equally at a loss for words: From 72-4, KKR were all out for 95 runs—this when the pre-innings prediction by former cricketers was a KKR victory in 8 to 11 overs, chasing down 111 runs.
A shot for BCCI to hit
When they are able to speak, commentators, in all languages, alternate between poetry and their favourite four-letter word—“Shot!” How many ways can you describe a cricket “shot”? Let’s count the ways: “good shot’, “very good-looking shot”, “superb shot”, “incredible shot”, “what a shot!”, “lovely shot”, “beautiful shot”, “stupendous shot”, “fantastic shot”, “another shot and another shot…”, “shot hai, bhai…”
Which is the best commentary? Hard to say but let’s say anyway: the English cricket commentary is as bland as most English food with a little mustard tartness—“A sterling response… lovely use of the feet..”; the Punjabi and Haryanvi commentary teams are spicy and juicy, with plenty of masala from colloquial descriptions; Tamil and Telugu are pretty juicy too—at least they sound like that—generously sprinkled with English phrases: “Straight as an arrow, beautiful, sir” and a lot of exclamation marks.
Haven’t got around to the other languages but they must be just as much fun.
The commentators in these languages get carried away with highs and lows, rising and fall with sixes or wickets.
They speak fast and faster, loud and loudest. In Hindi, they have fun: “Oo ho, bhai, Akash, my mouth is hanging open…”, “Karun’s (Nair) motor chala pump pump pump..”, “Here is it, helicopter gagan chumbi shot”, “Travis Head aur Glen Maxwell ke peech tu-tu main main chal raha hai…” “Punjab’s boy (Abhishek Sharma) has given Punjab such a beating…”, “Oh oh oh, MS Dhoni magic (in a stunning runout against LSG)…while we were looking somewhere else, look at what he did—another Dhoni ki dastaanon…”
The joy has been lost in translation: But it’s not just the words; like with the ball in a bowler’s hand, it’s all about the delivery. The commentators are amateur actors behind the microphone—it’s the way they say it more than what they say.
Here’s an idea for the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India): Create a Commentators League with teams in 12 language competing for the best pitch and delivery.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)