Out of the many words which can describe India, diversity pits its case as one of the most suitable ones out of the bunch. Be it language or climate or cuisine etc., one can find variety in each of these facets if he decides to travel along the 3 million sq. KM landmass of India.
However, there are few aspects of the daily which binds most of us, 140 crore Indians and one of them is cricket.
My earliest memories related to cricket were going out to play in the evening with my father. To be honest the version which we used to play was closer to baseball than cricket, but it was the part of the day which I used to look forward towards the most. As a viewer, I can't exactly pinpoint my first cricket match though I have a weird feeling it was a Zonal match. However, I have clear recollections of the 2011 World Cup, a tournament which made thousands of children like me fall in love with the game.
I remember the vibrant opening ceremony with captains of the 14 participating nations making their entry in the familiar South-Asian Totos. I remember the opening match between India and Bangladesh. At that time, I didn't even know how to read the scoreboard, my constant questions irritated my mother. Sehwag struck a 175 and someone else lower down the order too completed his century in the 2nd last ball of the innings.
I remember the tied match against England and as well as India's loss against South Africa in the group stage. Mom was furious about why Dhoni chose Nehra over Harbhajan for the last over that night.
My parents only followed India's matches in that tournament and so quite naturally, the 2011 World Cup personally for me was only about India. However, one day, the sports channel was kept on by chance, and Pakistan vs New Zealand was being telecasted. Now at that time I didn't have much idea about the expected scoring-rates, but I was wise enough to know that what Ross Taylor achieved that day was something to be remembered for in the later years.
I remember I was taken aback by Kevin O Brien’s blood-red hair which was displayed in full glory in Chinnaswamy and the popularity that Shahid Afridi and Lasith Malinga possessed among the fans.
I have more clear recollections of India’s knockout games: Ashwin opening the bowling against Australia and Haddin taking him on, Nehra ji injuring himself on the field in the semis and how my mother was distraught to see Sreesanth opening the bowling in the Finals.
1.5 months of non-stop enjoyment and the subsequent IPL season convinced me to say “cricketer” when asked about the generic “what will you become when you group up?” question in school(I chose a Pietersen still for the subsequent scrapbook project).
