To Cricket,
I am a 90's kid- a kid of the era when cricket was a religion. From those ancient times when watching cricket was synonym to celebration. From the stone age when my Grandma and mummy, even being a cricket illiterate, use to finish the household work to watch cricket match. It was not just a match or cricket.
For kids, back in 90s, cricket series was equivalent to holidays- getting up early, completing homework before the match starts, skipping 'play ground'- the biggest sacrifice a 90s kids could have made then and tug-of-war between siblings to reserve a seat close to Television. Life was not easy- being a kid and cricket lover, we, 90's kids had to sacrifice a lot. Negotiating with parents to do the left share of study next morning and we kept our promise- Just for the love of Cricket.
Cricket then was love, lust, passion and life. From aping our favorites' signature style to MRF bats to doosra to jersey numbers- we were busy eating, living and sleeping cricket. Me being a native of a small town, Deoghar, had to face lot of obstacles and hassle while watching matches- power cut, signal issues of Doordarshan and the small idiot box.
During power cut, BBC saved as from not missing a single ball. And if the radio battery was drained off, the firework in neighboring colony advertised the victory of the team. What mattered then was Victory!knowledge then was not just solving a trigonometry sum. If you are that bright kid who knows which batsman is highest scorer or which team tops the ICC chart, the average strike rate of Sachin Tendulkar, maximum bowling speed of Sohaib Akhtar- yes you were the smartest chap of your colony. Those were the days when cricket was the eligibility criteria of being an intelligent.
The playground was an blank answer sheet for us. Forming team, deciding the batting order, placing fielders and picking right bowlers- it was as difficult as solving profit -loss sums. Getting limbs fractured while playing cricket was an Oscar moment for 90s kids.
India Pakistan Match was always a do-or-die even if the team had made it through finale. Sachin and Ganguly then was hottest pair we knew. Dravid and Laxman chemistry was sizziling for us. Blood boiled when Sachin was bowled by Shane Warne or when team Pakistan bowled any Indian Player.
We prayed when Murlidharan bowled, prayed for wicket of Afridi, cried when India lost, danced when Sachin scored century and became dyspeptic when India lost- Cricket was emotion for us. It united the country- the secular India.Those good days are back. I really feel lucky as very few of us get a second chance to enjoy childhood. It's nostalgic watching all the legends sharing the same ground- looks like a galaxy where every star matters. My blood boiled when Warne bowled Sachin, prayed for Kallis wicket and missed those good old days.
Missed the playground and that feeling of winning a 10 overs match. Missed the home made snacks while watching match, missed those post discussion of match in school during lunch, missed those war of words with my brother, missed those victory fireworks and nostalgic 90s.
Watching Cricket All Stars- the old lanes of cricket.
With LoveShambhavi
