Star News found people equally unable to express themselves adequately. Having no news to report, it visited a lounge bar in Delhi just before India’s match and asked the guests, “How will you do cheers?” They looked at the reporter as though he was mentally in his cups but replied sportingly (it was cricket, after all!), “We’ll do cheers, what else?” Seems Twenty20 is leading to a communication gap.

And sleep deprivation. India’s matches are scheduled for 10.30 pm. The second innings starts at around midnight and continues past 1 am. Not fair. Obviously, this schedule was drawn up for local ground receipts and not to suit the watching habits of Indian viewers.

If you are awake and alert, notice the cheerleaders. Now, cheerleaders, almost by definition, perform best with (or without) as many clothes as possible. Scantily clad, they dance rhythmically and energetically to the beat of the music. But due to the whimsical nature of the English weather it was a cold June day, so there they were, in ski like suits doing what looked like warm-up exercises. Snore.

Two welcome differences from IPL. There is no seven-minute break after 10 overs which is just as well because we might have fallen asleep. And, there is none of that chatty chatting up the beer-swilling public by former cricketers who haven’t been selected — for the commentary box.

We were not at all amused by Times Now and NDTV 24 x7 on Wednesday. In their news bulletins they ran footage of a woman who tried to commit suicide by laying herself down on the railway tracks. Then we saw the train, travelling at full speed, pass over her. A few seconds later, she gets up and walks away. This is the sort of believe-it-or-not item we expect to from India TV. Perhaps, the news channels are beginning to resemble each other?

... contd.