I was curious about this, as it's a sport I've heard is quite popular in India - although I know little to nothing about it!! I like going to sporting events when I travel though, and thought it would be a neat way to learn about a sport that Indians enjoy. Are the matches played at a certain time of year? Or in certain cities? I'd love to learn a bit more about it!
If you want to see the passion for cricket at its best then wait for an India vs Pakistan one day cricket match and book your tickets online. You won't be disappointed even if the venue is outside India. India Vs Pakistan matches are not being played these days due to tensions between the two countries but hopefully they would start again soon. You can go for a few IPL matches that are heald across India at different cities. IPL is heald once every year so need to keep track online and buy your tickets well in advance.
Thank you! I'm just looking at the IPL website now and it seems like there's quite a few different venues - 12 different stadiums from what I could see! I think as long as I time it right, I should be able to see a match!
If you want to watch a match live, as it is being played, and you cannot make it to the event in person for one reason or another, you can watch it on Youtube! All the matches since 2010 can still be found there. You might want to check it out before going to a game. From memory, India's cricket is mostly played between April and May each year, but the Indian Cricket team travel all over the world to play cricket (mostly!). Twenty20 cricket is just one format of cricket matches, but it's currently where most of the excitement is. It would probably appeal to tourists more than other formats because it doesn't last too long. If you like watching cricket matches being played out, 'One Day International Series' last longer and you might feel you get better value for money. The Test Matches will go on for much, much longer and are also worth watching for the variety of styles used. This type are also the 'calmer', more 'laid back' of all the different ways cricket is being played. They also have a Women's Cricket Team, which you might like to see as well.
Thanks for the advice! I guess being from Australia you know a lot about it, because it's super popular there too right?! The only reason I really know about cricket is because of an Aussie friend I met while backpacking and he was ALL about cricket. I'll have to check out YouTube so I can get my head around the rules a bit more, and make sure I'm cheering at the right time...it would be rather awkward if not! Also - I've heard your city is beautiful! Lots of wineries and stuff in South Australia too, yeah? I've travelled a lot in Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania) but I never got over to South Australia sadly!
Well, cricket used to be very popular here, especially growing up on the farm, where we used to play it more than watch it just because we could build ideal cricket pitches just about anywhere. Back then, we worshiped the players, knew everything about them and had bets going on matches and individual statistics per game (not for real money). There is just two main sports you need to know something about in the Southern parts of Australia: Aussie Rules Football and Cricket. Up north, starting at about Sydney, they are more into Rugby and cricket. Oh - one thing I neglected to mention... I'm not sure if this applies to cricket in India, but it certainly applies here. When watching cricket, either live attendance or on TV live, bring a small "transistor radio" with a big antenna. The radio commentary is far more detailed and you will learn a Lot about the game, about the players, about scoring and statistics... everything! Televised live matches bring up tables of values, teach you how to calculate an individual player's Run Rate or a Bowler's Strike Rate, give you maps and statistics about the cricket ground in comparison to other venues, etc. My city is beautiful, if you like wide open spaces of nothing, but that's about it! I've visited regional cities here that are bigger than Adelaide! I did attend a private Christian High School in the Barossa Valley wine region for five years and one side of my family are from there too. I regularly holiday in the Eastern States, but haven't been to the world's most isolated city yet.
I have seen a couple of cricket games on television and it looks like baseball in a way. Are they similar or is cricket completely different?
I actually made it a personal goal of mine to learn more about cricket in the my trip to India, and I have to say that unfortunately I still do not understand the game. Even after seeing some of it played and asking a whole bunch of questions, and feeling quite annoying doing so, I still don't get it. They do love it though, and I love the passion and the fanfare surrounding it. Maybe someday.
I have always wondered about that sport and would enjoy seeing a live match. I have read the comments here so far. My best bet is to follow the cricket matches online and order my tickets.
That's the only thing I had to compare it to, being from the States - but people I know in Australia tell me there's absolutely nothing similar! The rules, the bats, everything is different! But it fascinates me which is part of the reason I want to see a match!
You are so right. The sport is nothing like any other sport, there is. It is an amazing sport and the rules are unfamiliar to me. I’m not even sure how the game is played. But I do know there is a lot of action from the players. .
I suppose you could say that they're similar in that both have players hitting a ball with a bat, running and the fielders trying to get the batsman 'out'. But I think the rules and scoring systems are completely different (don't ask me to explain cricket rules...I really can't). I've never been to a baseball game, but I have strong memories of my dad taking me to cricket games as a child and they just seemed to drag on foreeeeeeever. So I have something of an aversion to it now!
