Those were the days when we carried radios secretly to class for score updates. We used to run to library which had the only computer with internet for live scores. We had no Cell Phones, no facebook, no twitter. We had cricket as the only source of entertainment. We were the most cricket crazy class room of the whole school. I believe we hold a record for bunking the highest number classes for playing cricket. Those were the days when Dhoni was not “ THE “ Dhoni we know today. I still remember the radio commentry of Dhoni’s first century, his 148 against Pakistan at Vizag.
How can we imagine our school days without cricket? We ate cricket, we drank cricket, we breath cricket, we lived cricket. Cricket was the last thought that crossed our minds before we went to bed. We were in love with cricket. We were the only teenagers on this earth who were least interested in girls & more interested in cricket. It was like our girlfriend.Every games period had a cricket match and every cricket match had hours of planning & discussion. No kidding, half of the classroom hours were spent in discussions, planning, field positions, sketches and strategies. We were so serious about our game, we used to maintain records of our total runs, number of sixes, no. of fours and were proud of our records. We split our class room into 2 teams forever & never changed for the whole year. It was just like our own professional IPL.
Yes we were friends. But on field, we were utter rivals. I still remember how we never spoke to opposite team for 3 days, just because they cheated us on a wide ball at the end of a match. Victory was a matter of pride and defeat was a matter of shame and insult. Losing team had red noses and Bowed-down heads for a brief period of time.But our love for cricket was what that bonded us as a class. We jumped the walls of our school, just to get the bats and balls we hide in the neighbouring house. We bribed the watchmen so that he won’t complain. Under those beautiful trees and vast grounds of our school, we have played some glorious matches. Some were one-sided, some went close, but each every match was played with 200% aggression and spirit. And all that intense cricket for a week bogged down to one final showdown, THE SUNDAY. Our popular venues were the medical college ground & the municipal ground. They are like our LORD’S & EDEN GARDENS.
We had such a tremendous fitness back in school days, Thanks to Cricket. We have played cricket in 45*C heat, in 20 cm rain, in 15*C of biting cold & all possible conditions imaginable. We have played cricket in a cricket ground, hockey ground, football ground & even in Basket Ball ground. We have also played cricket for a whole without attending a single class. We have played cricket with rubber ball, tennis ball, Paper & a Pad, with a English willow, with a Kashmir willow, with a broken wood piece, with a radium ball & what not. We never had a single guy in our class who played cricket with negligence. He literally took his game to his heart. We had so many guts for cricket. We have lied to principal, denied Sunti’s exam papers, Bluffed or PET.... Only for Cricket. All the art, yoga, leisure and other boring classes were our cricket periods.
WOW ... !!! ... So many memories we have with this wonderful game.... And how crazy we were about cricket.... I still don’t Understand what drove us so much in those days? ..................
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