I remember that time of the year when all I did was sprint home, put on my cricket jersey [old tees], and walk in style to the field.
Summer was reserved for test cricket. Because it’s vacation and we would get to play for eight hours straight. But playing a test match wasn’t easy under the scorching sun.
VVS Lakshman and Dravid were my favourites. I’ve always looked up to them as an ardent cricket fan. We knew tests were a big deal for teams.
So we wanted to make it look more serious than our regular 5-over or 10-over matches. We acted like as if we were taking advantage of the grass on the pitch though the pitch remained the same.
The toss was made to look crucial, but whoever won the toss would choose to bat first.
We would unapologetically use saliva to shine the rubber ball, hoping we could find some swing and send the batsmen back to pavilion.
The game was divided into three phases: the morning session post breakfast, the noon session post lunch, and an evening session minus tea.
But the whole match would often get completed in a day, courtesy of our poor batting skills and lack of patience.
The winners got snacks and ice creams as trophies were way too expensive. The defeated team would also join the winners to share the rewards.
A team of twenty would battle for two samosas and a scoop of ice cream. But the beautiful part was everybody got everything!
It’s another summer now. I have grown up to become a writer. My first love was to write. But my second love was always cricket.
I don’t play as often as I used to these days. Because life happened.
And life, for me, is like a ball, which is away from the grip of the bowler — pacing forward with the hope of gaining a wicket someday!