MY INTRODUCTION TO CRICKET

Cricket! This sport has become a very important part of my life. I love watching cricket matches, be it supporting India in a bilateral series or supporting the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. I have become an ardent fan of Indian cricket. I frequently go out and play cricket. I also love to write articles on cricket. But, it has been a long journey for me to become such a fan of cricket. Well, let me start from the very beginning.

I didn’t know anything about cricket until I was 9 years old. I used to think that cricket was a sport in which there is a bat and a ball and we can hit it anywhere we want. I never used to go out to play or even talk about cricket. Instead, I used to play sports such as football and badminton. My grandmother used to frequently watch cricket matches on the television, but I used to never even go into the room at that time. In the year 2011, I heard many people frequently talking about the Cricket World Cup. My friends at school used to discuss very frequently on that event. I kept away from those conversations. My father is not a big cricket fan. But, he used to follow the World Cup. Once, when I came down for playing, I found no friend of mine playing in the park. I was surprised. After sometime, I found a boy whom I knew, and asked him to give me the reason for that. He told me that all of them were watching the ‘India vs Bangladesh’ match on the television. For the first time, I came to know how much the Cricket World Cup was followed in India! After I went back home, I found my father watching the match. I felt tempted at seeing what all my friends were currently watching. I went inside the room and sat with my father. The match turned out to be the first match of the World Cup. India beat Bangladesh quite easily. The next match played by India was against England. I didn’t follow the match too much but still used to come in and see the score at intervals. I had begun to understand the game and its rules. I followed the next match against Ireland. Yuvraj Singh played very well in that match and India won the game. The next game against Netherlands too was won easily. But, the game against South Africa was the game which fascinated me. Even though India lost the match, it was a very close encounter. I remember the match for Sachin Tendulkar’s blistering century. This match boiled the interest in me for the sport. The next match was won easily by India. India had qualified for the quarter-finals. But, they had to play Australia. I was aware how strong a team Australia was. India was chasing down a score of 260, and was on the verge of losing the game. But, Yuvraj Singh once again showed his class and prompted India to the semi-finals. The semi-final game was against arch-rivals, Pakistan, and India managed to win that game. India was in the finals of the World Cup and was playing Sri Lanka. My interest for the game had scaled some peaks. But, this match made it reach Mt. Everest. India beat Sri Lanka and was crowned as World Champions. The winning six from Dhoni will always stay in a corner of my heart. I had now understood most of the rules of the sport. I wanted to try and play the sport. My mother bought me a cricket bat. I and my brother used to play inside the house itself. After sometime, we went and played with many boys in the park. We used to put bricks on the top of each other and keep that as a stump. At the same time, the IPL too was going on. My favourite team, Chennai Super Kings won the IPL. I was overjoyed. I had begun to follow cricket very well.

I begun to follow all the series India played. Soon, I gained the interest to write on cricket. At the point of time when the thought struck me, India was touring England. India was playing very poor cricket. But, I still wanted to try and write on that series. I sat and started to write on the computer. Soon, I started to like doing that. When I showed my writings to my parents, they really liked it. India lost both the test and the ODI series badly. But, my writings proved out to be good. I still write on any followed cricket series [which features India].

Cricket has also led me to some memorable moments. One of them was when my grandfather took me to meet an ex-cricketer named Sunil Valson. Even though he did not play a single match for India, it was a big moment for me. He also gifted me a cricket bat containing the signatures of many players.

Thus, I am still a big cricket fan, and await every match.