Off the ball

Desperate times, the saying goes, call for desperate measures, and nowhere was this more evident than in a south Delhi colony during the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament final in which India played Sri Lanka. Near a local market, a giant TV screen was put up under a shamiana festooned with Congress posters and chairs provided for people to enjoy the match in the open. With India losing the plot early on, however, the expected political rub-off, if any, remained elusive.