This is autumn in South Africa, not yet the time for rains or chill, but the weather has been moody this week — much like the English conditions that the IPL organisers were so keen to avoid. The weather did deter the paying public initially, but as evening approached, they had packed in their umbrellas and queued up for their first taste of what everyone in these parts has been talking about. Once they got in, some credit should also go to Mumbai skipper Sachin Tendulkar and Chennai’s Matthew Hayden, both of whom treated the crowd to some delectable shots despite the conditions in the opening match to keep the spirit of T20 cricket alive.

Early observations

New Bangalore Royal Challengers skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Ray Jennings settled in the top tier early to get an overview of the proceedings before they could get down to business in the second match against defending champions Rajasthan Royals. “Nothing too short or too full, I guess,” said Jennings as KP nodded in agreement after Sanath Jayasuriya got Mumbai off to a quick start. “It’s holding up a bit mate, maybe later it’ll be be better,” KP observed in his reply.

The local crowd remained partisan, with JP Duminy getting more applause for his single boundary than Abhishek Nayar, who turned the match around in one over by hitting Flintoff for three sixes. Chennai Super Kings, who had lost out on support because skipper Dhoni had benched South Africans Albie Morkel and Makhaya Ntini, went on to lose the match by 19 runs — a big margin in cricket’s instant version.

Kumble, Dravid shine

Later, South African-born Pietersen walked in to big boos — the crowd clearly hadn’t forgotten his citizenship switch — and there were no tears shed as he was dismissed for 32. But the defending champions Rajasthan Royals — led by Shane Warne’s still-spinning deliveries — were brushed aside by a resurgent Bangalore (who had finished seventh last year) thanks to a fighting 66 by Rahul Dravid and a five-wicket burst by Anil Kumble

As the tournament goes on, Dhoni believes the bouncer will be put to greater use than slower deliveries. “The new ball has to be respected here,” he said, while adding that he was already missing the Indian crowds. “It’s noisy here but nothing compared to playing in India. It’s a great adrenaline boost when 40,000 to 50,000 people are rooting for cricket at the top of their voices.”

The real top dog

In the midst of all the action, and all the musical performances and the celebrations, there was another thing reminding everyone about cricket in India. A dog, much healthier than those found at the Eden Gardens and Ferozeshah Kotla, wandered into the field and held everyone to ransom.

No matter how passionately Jacob Oram or Manpreet Gony pleaded with him, or which biscuits the organisers offered him, he escaped all traps — and a diving security official — before deciding to move back into the stands. “Fourteen minutes by the watch,” noted Pietersen with sarcasm.