Pakistan played Bangladesh today in the 5th and final ODI of the series.

But everyone I know, including myself, were watching the Chennai Super Kings take on Kings XI Punjab, and later Rajhastan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils.

Salman Butt was playing a magnificent innings, but Micheal Hussey was playing a better one.

Would it have been different had Pakistan been playing Australia? Probably not. ODIs are a dieing form of the game. The fact that the 2 Indian Premier League matches had more TV viewership than an international one day match is an indication of cricket's future.

I'm not going delve into why ODI cricket has become increasingly uninteresting, but following are some the reasons why the first 2 days of the IPL have been appealing to me.

• Ganguly informing McCullum to be careful against Praveen Kumar as he nips the ball sharply.
  
• Boucher's stares at Kumar and Noffke when they bowled wide ones down leg.
  
• Zaheer subtly showing Ganguly the way and celebrating with Kallis.
  
• BRENDON MCCULLUM !!! 158 of 73 balls in any form of the game against whatever opposition is a remarkable achievement. As is 13 sixes.
  
• David Hussey c White b Noffke. An Aussie Threesome.
  
• SRK, Gauri Khan, Juhi Chawla, Karan Johar, and Arjun Rampal in the Knight Riders' kit supporting their team.
  
• SRK and Rampal bowing down when McCullum got to his 150.
  
• Ishant Sharma uprooting Dravid's stumps.
  
• Ganguly getting his revenge and bowling Zaheer and celebrating with Ponting.
  
• AB DINDA. Only the name would send shivers down the batsmen's spines.
  
• Greg Chappell at the toss with Dhoni and Yuvraj.
  
• Hayden thumping Lee for 4 straight down the ground.
  
• Lee going through Hayden's defences (didn't get the wicket though, it was a FREE hit).
  
• Hayden hitting his Queensland team mate James Hope for a 6 and a 4.
  
• MICHEAL HUSSEY !!! Lee, Sreesanth, Pathan, and Hopes is nothing less of an international quality pace attack. Hussey ripped them apart.
  
• Yuvraj hugging Hopes after he trapped Dhoni right in front.
  
• Suresh Raina's strokeplay - it was the same form that he displayed when he first played for India.
  
• Hayden back slapping Murali after the Sri Lankan made an amazing attempt at a catch at mid off.
  
• Priety Zinta cheering her team on.
  
• Murali bowling to Sangakkara. Dhoni keeping. Hayden at 1st slip.
  
• James Hopes - What power play!
  
• Delhi Daredevils uniform - Red and Black by Adidas!
  
• Daniel Vettori and Glen McGrath chatting before McGrath's first delivery.
  
• McGrath's 1st ball - Doesn't look like he's been retired from internationals for a year.
  
• Taruwar Kohli, India's U19 world cup winning opener, charging McGrath on the 4th ball of the innings and being beaten for the 4th time. Kohli must have been in his diapers when McGrath made his international cricket debut.
  
• Kohli smashing McGrath for 6 over the covers of the final ball of the same over. McGrath getting Kohli 3 balls later.
  
• McGrath smiling at Watson after he leaves his 1st ball to him. McGrath doing the same when Watson hits him for 4.
  
• The look on Watson's face after being hit for 3 consecutive 4s by Sehwag.
  
• Shane Warne - the oohs and aahs and the deliveries. Its all there. Great to see him bowl again.
  
• None of the 6 high profile captains in the 3 games played made any impression.

Great batting, power hitting, good bowling, sharp fielding, 200+ scores, capacity crowds, international cricketers, Indian stars, Bollywood stars, cheerleaders, mascots, its all been there. The IPL is underway, and its looking great to me.

I didn't like Lalit Modi being chummy with Priety Zinta but then not everything about an event can appeal to everyone.

I'm still unsure about the loyalties of the Indian fans to their city teams, but for the global audience the interesting pairings and match ups the IPL promises between cricketers is its USP in my opinion.

This is exactly what has appealed to me besides the exciting cricket.

Has it appealed to you?