Life is like cricket !!!

Growing up in a cricket crazy family has not always been easy for me. I had frequent dinner table pop quizzes from my dad in the form of, "Tell me... how much Asif scored in the 1st innings at Eden Gardens when Pakistan toured India in 1979-’80…" (for some reason he always used only the first name, as if they were his friends from high school). And before I could even start thinking my brother would prove his superior knowledge in cricket and everything else... "5, not out". Though, I was fascinated by the game of cricket as soon as my brain could differentiate between environmental noises and running commentary on Akashvani, I trailed far behind of him in my understanding of it and life in general. My dad was not always sympathetic to the fact that my brother had a 5 years of head start on me. I distinctly remember (when I was 6 years old) one of the questions during our dinner-time quiz was, "Who bowled the most number of consecutive maiden overs for India in Test match cricket?" I was excited as I thought I knew the answer for this and I could beat my brother this one time. "Gandhi", I almost screamed. Both of them looked at me as if I committed a crime that would make Hitler look like the savior of mankind. Much to my dismay, horror, and embarrassment and at the cost of dinner that night, I would soon learn that Bapu Nadkarni and Bapu Mahatma Gandhi were not the same person and my dad’s habit of referring by first name caused the confusion.

Life went on. I eventually stopped fantasizing about taking a bow after breaking Gary Sobers’s record of 365 not out as my dad’s wishful thinking could not anymore compensate for my lack of talent (well Brian Lara was just 13 then and probably was fantasizing the same thing). But, cricket always remained a part of my life. Time and again I would take refuge in the world of cricket. It was my little niche where I always found comfort. In fact it was my only solace in the cruel world, when my girlfriend decided to turn lesbian and date my beautiful female roommate instead. During, one such mournful evening, I remembered my 8 years old cousin once came up with one of the most prophetic statements that I heard in real life…"Life is just like cricket. Everything is all about timing." I realized it was a wrong time to have a female roommate. And though, I thought I scored well, I eventually mistimed and was out before reaching my landmark. But, then, I drew inspiration from the fact that even Geoffrey Boycott had tears in his eyes every time he got out and was determined to play better as he waited for the next innings.

Well, I believe my wait for my next one has come to an end and as a tribute to the influence of cricket in my life and the person who made me feel that the wait was worthwhile, I decided to start my own blog. Though, I mistimed again a little bit to start with (Fine Leg was already taken, hence Deep Fine Leg), I intend to be around very long this time, both here and elsewhere.