The Cricket Diaries

The torrential Goan rains were beating relentlessly against the mess windows, the patter drowning the blabber at the tables. I was enjoying a cup of steaming coffee, chatting with my buddies. As it often does the discussion turned towards sports, and eventually, towards cricket- the most popular sport we had grown up watching. We were recalling the various exciting cricket moments we had witnessed- a common pastime for us. Spree 2010, which had just ended, was providing fodder to our conversations. “How about that match we’d had against CoEP? That was one thriller.”

“Oh yes, yes, we’d all gone to watch it together. That was one heck of a match. Remember CoEP’s innings? They completely whipped us...”

“So what, we won. That’s the end of it. That’s what matters in the end, so what if CoEP’s scorecard looked pretty. Our boys won.”

“That we did, sure. But they too were playing with such class. That guy what’s his name... his batting looked just unconquerable. Do you remember how relieved when we when we finally managed to get him out. Yes, I got his name- Pushkar”

“Yes I remember... poor fellow got run out before his fifty- that was some disappointment...”

“But don’t forget that our bowlers made them sweat it out. Our captain, Athul, you know, he wasn’t giving them more than three runs an over. They were probably going green with frustration with that wicked bowling.” The discussion was getting rather animated now, with my friend acting out the batsmen’s agony to the stares of other people around us in the crowded mess.

“That’s some economy, dude. But then we didn’t manage to get too many wickets, did we? That gave them an edge in the end. That’s how they managed that score.”

“Agreed... 106 in 20 overs for just three wickets, that’s saying something.”

“But we managed to beat that score didn’t we? It was pretty close, but still we managed to do it. We won with i guess... just three balls remaining, right?”

“Yes, three balls and three wickets. It was a close shave... their fielding was kind to us in the last few overs, otherwise we were looking pretty much done for in the middle of our innings.”

“Aditya salvaged the match. Take out his innings, and we could have as well surrendered our bats- he just turned the tables on CoEP. They looked like they didn’t know what hit them. He scored like above fifty in just 5 or 6 overs. That was nothing short of spectacle. When he came in we were at like 26 in nine overs. We’d as good as given up.”

“Yeah, without him, we didn’t stand a chance. His timing was just so awesome, and he scored when we needed it most. He got such a grand welcome from the crowd when he returned from his innings.”

“It’s just so much fun to watch you college play... the cheering, the excitement, the disappointment. Dude, I'm just wondering how inter college matches can get any better than this.”

As we filed out of the crowded mess, I realised what those people suffering from “withdrawal symptoms” were talking about. Say what, I understood their pain. Totally.