Some were born loving it, some acquired the passion and some had it thrust on them. We are talking here of the religion most of us share – Cricket, the sport that the pros play big time, and rest from all strata of society, follow and judge them with intense passion !
As Indians we rarely meet anyone not familiar with the legends of the game from Sunny ji & Sachin to King Kohli and Hitman and the fluctuating fortunes and vissitudes of our ‘Men in White (in Tests) or Blue (in Limited Overs)’. An India win brings a smile on a billion faces and raucous celebrations follow while a defeat quickly spreads gloom all around. India travels abroad to play an overseas series and there’s more high drama !
The final day of the Lords Test against England had raised hopes of another India win (with 135 runs to get and six wickets in hand) and resolute Rahul & Pant at the crease – but as Jofra got through Rishabh’s defenses, a famous nursery rhyme was playing itself out as three more wickets ‘came tumbling after’ ! There’s nothing more deflating for a die hard Indian fan (watching live telecast armed with celebratory snacks & beverages) to watch our batters fall in a heap and English fielders moving in for the kill.
Furious WhatsApp messages were being exchanged with shell shocked cricket-afflicted friends as to how soon the Barmy’s Army’s cheering would change into victory war cries. My wife who watches matches when India’s likely to win, decided to leave me to witness the debacle-she couldn’t endure the cat & mouse game, she said. A little later I finally changed the channel to watch a crime serial where I expected some real action. After half an hour, curiosity got the better of me. I was to find a great fight back in progress…
The story of Sir Jadeja waging a lone battle against the torrid pace attack lead by Archer and offering relentless resistance by forging partnerships with Nitish, Bumrah and Siraj for good four hours almost taking India home, has become another folklore at Lords. In the end it took an ironical played on from the solid defence of Siraj that sealed our fate. While English celebrated wildly, social media went into a frenzy at this amazing game.
Next day, the papers/media were full of tributes, reports, articles and analysis but like a beacon of sportsmanship was a pic of the two great all rounders ( Ben Stokes & Jadeja) embracing each other. When I forwarded it to a friend who’s not addicted to cricket as we are, he innocently asked ‘What happened’ ?!. Being inclined to follow geo-political tension that grips the news, he felt it was a likely end to the ‘Middle-East Crises’ !
Working on Living 