In the first half of 20th century, cricket meant playing a game with bat and ball for five long days. Teams used to have a strategy which they used to implement based on the proceedings and change it at times, if needed during those tensed five days. Though there were only a few results, it was supposed to be the best showcase of talent of the individuals as well as the team as a whole.
Then came the ODI era which compresses the time required to 20% and halved the number of innings. It surely increased the entertainment among the audience. As far as players were concerned, though talent was still key to most of the matches, there were a few innings which was commanded by the blind slog of the bowlers. As the time progressed and the rules were changed to suit the batsmen, the talent got covered up by the ability to hit the ball harder and more frequently. Then, powerplays made it necessary to have two slots of hard hittings in an innings. It became more interesting.
This advancement led to the yet again compression of the game. this time, it was compressed to 40% of the time, keeping the innings same and a brand new name Twenty20, rightly as they had 20 overs in each innings. This again braught more hard hittings and much more entertainment; not to mention the huge amount of money which converted it to business from a mere sports event.
As far as luck vs talent fight of T20 cricket is concerned, it varies from more talent to more luck as we advance from Tests to T20 games. Unlike in a Test match wherein a team needs to play persistently well throughout a span of five days, in ODIs its a matter of a day and in T20s just a few hours. As the testing time decreases the requirement of pure talent to cope up with demanding situation decreases and the requirement of blind hitting increases. Its true that even in a game of 20 overs a side, the more talented players will play better and should win. But here comes the deal- whatif its just an odd time for that talented player?
Then came the ODI era which compresses the time required to 20% and halved the number of innings. It surely increased the entertainment among the audience. As far as players were concerned, though talent was still key to most of the matches, there were a few innings which was commanded by the blind slog of the bowlers. As the time progressed and the rules were changed to suit the batsmen, the talent got covered up by the ability to hit the ball harder and more frequently. Then, powerplays made it necessary to have two slots of hard hittings in an innings. It became more interesting.
This advancement led to the yet again compression of the game. this time, it was compressed to 40% of the time, keeping the innings same and a brand new name Twenty20, rightly as they had 20 overs in each innings. This again braught more hard hittings and much more entertainment; not to mention the huge amount of money which converted it to business from a mere sports event.
As far as luck vs talent fight of T20 cricket is concerned, it varies from more talent to more luck as we advance from Tests to T20 games. Unlike in a Test match wherein a team needs to play persistently well throughout a span of five days, in ODIs its a matter of a day and in T20s just a few hours. As the testing time decreases the requirement of pure talent to cope up with demanding situation decreases and the requirement of blind hitting increases. Its true that even in a game of 20 overs a side, the more talented players will play better and should win. But here comes the deal- whatif its just an odd time for that talented player?
