Cricket: An Emotion

Cricket has been one of the most beautiful things in our lives. We kwpt growing, we kept aging but our craze for the sport never went low. Now, in the tough time, this is dedicated to all the Cricket fans.

As a small kid, from celebrating that last six by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in WC2011 to crying harder than ever when the same man got run-out in WC2019, cricket is a force that has caused a flurry of emotions almost every person in the country at some point of time, directly or indirectly. There are not less than 500M cricket analytics in the country.

We all felt a great pleasure when Rohit hit 264 in Eden Garden and the greatest anger and disappointment when we lost the 2017 Champions Trophy to our neighbours.

It all began in 1983, long before we were born, even our parents were aged less than us (now). That World Cup win by Kapil Dev's team made every citizen believe that we are no less. Sooner than enough, cricket became a legacy, running from generations to generations. Now, I'd try to make it more relatable.

A warm afternoon in the 2000s, we had to watch our favourite cartoon show but Oh no! Father snatched the remote and turned the volume high. Same commentary was audible in the whole colony because it was IND v PAK. But we didn't care, why would we? We didn't care whether Shoaib Akhtar bowls above 160 km/h and our batsmen may face problems. That's a weekly show with no repeat telecast! We cry and cry but at that moment, we realized that our parents and grandparents too turned into a kid watching the screen. Was there any occasion today because ma was making pakoras. That was the moment we watched cricket for the first time!!! The glimmering and perfectly round ball going high in the sky or hitting something like three wooden sticks and making them fly. Goddamn, it was wonderful.

Finally that occasion ended with happy tears and bursting of crackers in the colony. This was something! Something greater than a cartoon show!

Now, for a moment of our life, all of us wanted to be a cricketer. We had gangs- cricket gangs. We used to hear scoldings of Aunties and Uncles for hurting them. Finding a lost ball was no less than finding a new species. Fights with other 'gangs’ for the pitch was no less than ‘Swayamvar of Mahabharata’ where 5 boys were going to win a field, instead of a bride obviously. Playing with the leather ball for the first time gave us the feeling of elites but for some, it became a habit. We didn't care if it broke our jaw but the craze was enough to make us run to the field.

Cricket gave us a god who is still prayed with the same devotion, even after 7 years he has come anywhere near to the field. We always had a row with our parents that Dhoni gave us more than Dada!!!! But, sooner than later, we realized that those two were the most glittering gems of the country… Now, we don't care who is better- Rohit or Kohli. They both play for India and never fail to give us goosebumps is much more important.

If it wasn't the lockdown, we would have stuck our eyes on tv every night at 8pm. Probably the last week of IPL would have been going on, or another MI v CSK final or maybe RCB would have lifted the cup for the first time (JK). But, it is more than clear that we miss it hard, no matter how we criticize IPL and corruption in it.

Watching an overseas test match has never been easy. We had to wake up at 5 in the morning. But, damn! Our team always struggled under those swinging conditions and we felt wasted. But, then came an era, Era of the finest pacers Indian Team ever produced. Now we can rely on Bumrah’s pace and Yorkers, Bhuvi’s and Ishant’s swing and Shami's reverse. They made us believe that India can win matches in any country.

Watching our favourite stars in these tough times has kept our hopes high. And there comes Chahal, the greatest entertainer ever entered in the cricket field. I believe this time would have been much better if there was some cricket going on…

So, finally, in a feeling of nostalgia, this will come to an end. Share it with your cricket gang to give them “A moment”.