The art of telling the viewers what they can already see, but doing it loudly, and with disorienting persistence, whilst mentioning as many sponsors as scientifically possible using a human voice-box. Aimed to assault rather than inform, to overwhelm rather than illuminate. In the old days of televised Test cricket, an entire 20 overs could pass without any commentator saying anything (in fact, during some lulls in play, the only discernible sign that the BBC commentary box was still populated was the gentle snoring of Tom Graveney). In the IPL, two seconds of dead air will result in multiple sackings.

(From Andy’s A to Z at Cricinfo)