As India -- and 11 other 12 international teams -- gear up for the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup series scheduled to commence in the Caribbean less than three months from now, it might be time for cricket fans to make their own preparations! And what better way than to hone one’s skills at armchair appreciation, by ‘selecting’ one’s dream teams, pitting them against each other in some nail biting scenarios – and second-guessing the real results. All one requires is a reasonable internet connection and a personal computer.
A Google search for online T20 games will throw up dozens of options. Here are four that we found to be well structured, visually interesting – and importantly for most of us -- free.
IndiaGames, now part of the UTV entertainment group, offers “World Cup Cricket 20-20”, a 3-D graphics-rich game where you can set up your favourite teams, emulate your cricketing heroes and set up matches till one team bags the trophy. And there’s a realistic commentary in the background. Before you can play, IndiaGames requires you to download a ‘Games On Demand’ tool from http://god.indiagames.com .
In recent week IndiaGames has created a variant , “Cricket T20 Fever” that can be played on the iPhone. The makers plan on releasing versions for other mobile phone platforms like Symbian, as well as popular games machines like Xbox and PSP, before the real World Cup gets underway. The basic iPhone version is free but you have to pay for the more advanced version.
The Sify portal features its own T20 game, crafted by Antzill Online Games. You can select 2 teams from among 14, check their current ratings and then pit them against each other in a 15 over game. The menu makes it very easy to select ball speeds, batting strokes and adjust the power or accuracy of each stroke. Left and right arrow keys are used to bowl over or round the wicket. Forward and backward keys are used to make the batsman hit or defend. It’s a lot of fun and even children will quickly become expert players thanks to very intuitive controls ( Select the game from the http://games.sify.com page or go directly to http://games.sify.com/casual-games/editor-s-pick-46-71/20-20-cricket-1194-71/play.html )
From the UK comes TopSpinner 2020, a game offered by Mousebreaker. This has a useful option where you can play solo – or against a friend. The second option allows one to harness social networking sites to link up with an online opponent. (http://www.mousebreaker.com/games/topspinner2020 )
Finally, a cheeky game contributed by an outfit sponsored by Virgin Mobile which calls itself Indian Hatke league. Their game has fictitious players – but you will have no difficulty in identifying with them because the sport names like Yusef Patton and M.S. Droony! And as added incentive, the site offers daily prizes for the ‘ winners’. (http://www.indianhatkeleague.com/ihl-game ).
The 2010 T20 tourney has begun – in Cyberia. Let’s click-start the virtual winner!
(This article appears simultaneously in the current issue of The Week Magazine, Feb 8-14 20109 www.the-week.com )
