Being a moth in a chandelier

If one were to ask me this question "Which of these will make you the happiest person on Earth? Is it a bowl of ice-cream left for you to finish? Or bunking college and going to a film? Or a date with your girlfriend? ", I would politely answer ' None of these' (Readers may wonder if I didn't listen to the third option or if I'm sounding too diplomatic but the truth is, I'm being very honest). The premier thing in my life (at least as of now) which enthralls me and with which I share a committed relationship is playing cricket. Yes! It’s been there ever since I attended cricket coaching classes when I was in my fifth grade. For someone who had grown up watching the game on TV, it was exuberance that filled the air around when I played cricket in a professional way, clad in whites with my pads and gloves on. That was a special feeling indeed.

Though playing cricket had always been a part of my life till the tenth grade, I started feeling its absence once I entered high school. Things never seemed to materialize and the sincere efforts we had put to bring in people for a match went in vain almost every time. Even on those days when we played occasionally, there was not cent per cent commitment due to poor fitness levels and lack of touch with the game. Playing cricket has given me so much happiness, that's the only time when I actually forget everything in life and stay so much focused and dedicated on the field that, I'm sure, even a Kelly Brooke in bikini will fail to distract me.

After months of anticipation, a full-fledged cricket match happened last evening at the Somasundaram grounds in T.Nagar. I made a sincere effort last morning to do some yoga exercises and rolled my arm just to loosen the muscles so that I bowl with not much difficulty. Every time I go for playing cricket, I become a moth in a chandelier and yesterday was no different. Captaincy has eluded me on a very few occasions in the past and yesterday was not one such. I'm of the view that this responsibility will only exude confidence to players and make them give cent percent. After losing the toss, I took the ball in my hand to start proceedings and to my satisfaction, got the line and length right from the very first ball. But for those two boundaries, it was a very economical spell and I was successful in picking up two crucial wickets. I've always enjoyed standing at mid-off cheering up the bowlers and I applauded them after every dot-ball. As a bowler, I know how much it means when a fellow player applauds you. Fielding was not bad either and I played my part in a run-out.

Though I didn't get a chance to bat, we successfully chased 69 in 10 overs and the most important thing was, we didn't lose a wicket. It was so convincing and the immediate conversation I had with my opponent players was "When's the next match guys? ". Though it might have just been a friendly match, as I said, I play the game with so much intensity every time. Winning the match last evening made me so joyous and it was evident as I returned home with so much satisfaction. Nothing in the world can make me happier than playing cricket. Now, the daunting task ahead of us is to lift the 'Ashok Nagar Cup' which starts on June 29th. Hope we stay fit and put up a very good show.

A cricket fanatic forever,
Rajesh