MUMBAI: If the action on the field was fierce, so was it off the field. Cricket commentators vied with each other to come out with new terms and phrases to woo television audiences.

Phrases like “it went off like a trace of bullet” or on taking a catch, the clichéd term of “and he made no mistake”, were given the royal heave ho… Danny Morrison, Pommy Mbangwa and Robin Jackman were the commentators with the star appeal. They dared to be brazen and audacious and with the Indian Premier League mixing cricket with entertainment, the combination worked for all. The image of a cheerleader girl atop Danny Morrison’s shoulders would have shocked many a staid commentator, but the former Kiwi pacer with his wide set of shoulders bravely carried the weight even as he gave a detailed pitch report.

Robin Jackman, popularly called Jackes was fresh as he used different voice modulations to give his take on anything. The audiences loved him specially when he was close to the players dugout giving out information as if he was a sleuth under cover .

But the pick of the lot was Pommy Mbangwa. Pommy with his long braided hair was fantastic as he described a powerful six or a tame single taken off third man. His excitement was infectious and his wide array of descriptive phrases certainly took the viewing of T20 to a new high.

So even as stars like Sudeep Tyagi and Shadab Jakati made hay on the field, some keen competition amongst the commentators, gave television viewers a new taste of cricket commentary.