My dear little sis had ended up writing a blog about my going to watch an IPL match. So why should I be left behind?? After all it was my first hand experience !!! Moreover in her blog she made me sound like a total cricket illiterate, as if I can’t differentiate between a goal and a four/Six!! Huh... So the need of writing a blog became all the more necessary to clear my tarnished image!!!
Match - Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Chennai Super Kings
Day & time -18th May 2008 (Sunday) 4 pm
Venue- Eden Gardens
The excitement started well before that... a huge group from office had decided to go and as usual I was also drawn into it...I couldn'’t say no.. I have never been to Edens, had heard a lot about the electrifying feeling. Might never get a chance again & that too with friends, so said yes...Before going for the match, the whole feeling was as if we were going for a picnic !!! As nobody would be willing to go and get refreshments during the match we all decided to pack our snacks -sweets, chips, biscuits... Everybody pitched in. I will bring this, I will bring that!!! Was it any less than a picnic??
Next thing to be decided was the dress code...Black was the chosen color…Why ??? How dare you ask ??? Being Kolkatans we were supporting dada and his band of boys- Kolkata Knight Riders...But as an afterthought black was cancelled...We couldn’t be that loyal (sorry dada!!).. Even though the game was supposed to start at 4 pm.. we had to be there in the stands by 2pm..(Why so early?? I will get to that later), and wearing black at that time of day would have ensured that we would have been barbequed !!! Am sure dada wouldn’t have liked that !!! Next came caps- Since I have got a big fat head, normal caps don't fit me!! So the day before the game, Shilpa and I ventured out for a cap hunt... Got drenched in the rain, but came back home smiling as mission was accomplished and I had managed to buy a white cap... which made me look like a tennis pro!!!
Next thing to do was to make banners... As its been quite a while that I had a rishta with chart papers, there were none at home... So the responsibility of making banners was given to others.. I took the responsibility to coin the lines and immediately outsourced it to my sis!!! She was game enough to come up with some great ones.. Which I smsd to all my friends...of course giving her the due credit....Mou even wrote one on her cap!!!
Sis came up with the following-
“East or west…
Knightriders are the best"...
"Gali gali me shor hai
Dhoni ka team chor hai"
Errr... no comments about these, after all couldn't risk insulting her creative genius at that point of time!!! After a bit of coaxing and inspiring she came up with much better ones which won her much accolades from my friends, such as-
"KKR ke do do shaan
Dada aur Shahrukh khan"
"Dil me mere hai dard-e-disco
CSK eden se khisko"
"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Dhoni wicket pe sota hai"
"Om shanti Om
Dhoni ke peeche maro bom(b)"
Ahem..She got a bit carried away with the last one!! Couldn’t write that, so it was censored & mellowed down to-
"Om shanti Om
CSK go home"
She had suggested writing something favoring CSK on the back of the banner, in case they were winning we could turn the banner that side!! I didn’t accept the idea... loyalty & integrity naam ki koi cheez hai!!!
So on the great day we all met up in office fully equipped with sunscreen, sunglasses, caps, snacks, banners…That Sunday was a working day for us, but we had decided to give it an off... ended up making everybody else jealous by our sheer enthusiasm!!! We set out for Edens..The whole place was cordoned off, had to walk a long way in the sun but no one was complaining... We arrived 2 hours earlier. Seats had to be booked..Of course we had tickets!!! But that doesn’t quite matter there... It’s a first come first serve basis... After the game started saw a couple who had come to find their seats with the tickets in their hands.. People reacted as if they had committed a crime!! One lesson learnt that day- Stadium is not the same as a cinema hall !!!
The two hours wait just went away in a jiffy... watching players practicing on the ground.. could make out Shoaib, Ishant Sharma thanks to their distinguishing frames !!! We danced to the songs that were playing.. one part of the IPL hoopla..
The game began... and what I had heard all these days was true...The atmosphere was totally charged up...The whole stadium was packed.. Read in the newspaper the next day that it was a crowd of 80,000 - One of the strongest turnout IPL had witnessed that far.. Felt proud to be a part of it and proud of Kolkata!!! Each and every ball people expected a six or a four!!! What a pressure it creates on the batsmen... Once Shilpa got so excited when the batman hit a four she waved the "Out" banner instead!!! The sad part- not for a single moment did the camera focus on us!! But the people around us did read the banners and appreciate.. I felt so proud!!! People were also looking out for the celebrities…We could see SRK standing on the ground... a friend of mine even spotted Juhi Chawla..
We jumped up at each and every ball expecting a massive hit... danced at a 4 or 6.. took part in the mexican wave..moaned whenever anybody got out.. it was amazing...Before we could realize Kolkata Knight Riders wrapped up for 149/5.
Then it was the turn of Chennai Super Kings to bat. The way things were going we didn’t get the chance to dance!! At every ball we expected an out, but it didn’t happen... They were 55 for no loss and that's when the sky turned gray and there was a gust of wind and the weather changed from hot to cool.... A section of people started dancing as if they were welcoming the rain!!! "ghanan ghanan ghir ghir aaye badra!!" would have been an apt song!! And lo and behold, it started raining... Even though we were under the shade we got drenched... Then came the trickiest part- jumping over seats... People from the lower rows were coming up towards the shade & we all had to move up hopping over the concrete benches, one miss would have ended up in an accident…but thankfully there were no mishaps.. We waited.. It was a never before experience -enjoying the rain and storm in a open stadium...
The rain stopped... we expected the game to resume and awaited the much hoped for KKR win…but our hopes were shattered when it was declared that CSK won the game by the Duckworth-Lewis method...
The adventure was not yet over... Coming out of the stadium was another ordeal but we managed... Excited, tired, drenched in sweat and then rain, sun burnt, dejected at not being able to win and that too a must win game…it was a gamut of emotions...But an experience that I will never forget...
Don’t know what the die-hard test cricket fans say about these match formats... But I can say by what I saw that IPL has really caught the nation's attention... especially the youngsters... A match which wraps up in 3-3.5 hours…This is something like instant maggi, instant Pizza to them!! Cricket with bollywood celebrities and bit of song and dance thrown in and of course cheerleaders (how could I forget them. sorry guys!!!) who's complaining ?!!! So here's to IPL, the heady cocktail of energy, adrenalin, entertainment, masala and high TRP- hip hip hurray!!!
Match - Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Chennai Super Kings
Day & time -18th May 2008 (Sunday) 4 pm
Venue- Eden Gardens
The excitement started well before that... a huge group from office had decided to go and as usual I was also drawn into it...I couldn'’t say no.. I have never been to Edens, had heard a lot about the electrifying feeling. Might never get a chance again & that too with friends, so said yes...Before going for the match, the whole feeling was as if we were going for a picnic !!! As nobody would be willing to go and get refreshments during the match we all decided to pack our snacks -sweets, chips, biscuits... Everybody pitched in. I will bring this, I will bring that!!! Was it any less than a picnic??
Next thing to be decided was the dress code...Black was the chosen color…Why ??? How dare you ask ??? Being Kolkatans we were supporting dada and his band of boys- Kolkata Knight Riders...But as an afterthought black was cancelled...We couldn’t be that loyal (sorry dada!!).. Even though the game was supposed to start at 4 pm.. we had to be there in the stands by 2pm..(Why so early?? I will get to that later), and wearing black at that time of day would have ensured that we would have been barbequed !!! Am sure dada wouldn’t have liked that !!! Next came caps- Since I have got a big fat head, normal caps don't fit me!! So the day before the game, Shilpa and I ventured out for a cap hunt... Got drenched in the rain, but came back home smiling as mission was accomplished and I had managed to buy a white cap... which made me look like a tennis pro!!!
Next thing to do was to make banners... As its been quite a while that I had a rishta with chart papers, there were none at home... So the responsibility of making banners was given to others.. I took the responsibility to coin the lines and immediately outsourced it to my sis!!! She was game enough to come up with some great ones.. Which I smsd to all my friends...of course giving her the due credit....Mou even wrote one on her cap!!!
Sis came up with the following-
“East or west…
Knightriders are the best"...
"Gali gali me shor hai
Dhoni ka team chor hai"
Errr... no comments about these, after all couldn't risk insulting her creative genius at that point of time!!! After a bit of coaxing and inspiring she came up with much better ones which won her much accolades from my friends, such as-
"KKR ke do do shaan
Dada aur Shahrukh khan"
"Dil me mere hai dard-e-disco
CSK eden se khisko"
"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Dhoni wicket pe sota hai"
"Om shanti Om
Dhoni ke peeche maro bom(b)"
Ahem..She got a bit carried away with the last one!! Couldn’t write that, so it was censored & mellowed down to-
"Om shanti Om
CSK go home"
She had suggested writing something favoring CSK on the back of the banner, in case they were winning we could turn the banner that side!! I didn’t accept the idea... loyalty & integrity naam ki koi cheez hai!!!
So on the great day we all met up in office fully equipped with sunscreen, sunglasses, caps, snacks, banners…That Sunday was a working day for us, but we had decided to give it an off... ended up making everybody else jealous by our sheer enthusiasm!!! We set out for Edens..The whole place was cordoned off, had to walk a long way in the sun but no one was complaining... We arrived 2 hours earlier. Seats had to be booked..Of course we had tickets!!! But that doesn’t quite matter there... It’s a first come first serve basis... After the game started saw a couple who had come to find their seats with the tickets in their hands.. People reacted as if they had committed a crime!! One lesson learnt that day- Stadium is not the same as a cinema hall !!!
The two hours wait just went away in a jiffy... watching players practicing on the ground.. could make out Shoaib, Ishant Sharma thanks to their distinguishing frames !!! We danced to the songs that were playing.. one part of the IPL hoopla..
The game began... and what I had heard all these days was true...The atmosphere was totally charged up...The whole stadium was packed.. Read in the newspaper the next day that it was a crowd of 80,000 - One of the strongest turnout IPL had witnessed that far.. Felt proud to be a part of it and proud of Kolkata!!! Each and every ball people expected a six or a four!!! What a pressure it creates on the batsmen... Once Shilpa got so excited when the batman hit a four she waved the "Out" banner instead!!! The sad part- not for a single moment did the camera focus on us!! But the people around us did read the banners and appreciate.. I felt so proud!!! People were also looking out for the celebrities…We could see SRK standing on the ground... a friend of mine even spotted Juhi Chawla..
We jumped up at each and every ball expecting a massive hit... danced at a 4 or 6.. took part in the mexican wave..moaned whenever anybody got out.. it was amazing...Before we could realize Kolkata Knight Riders wrapped up for 149/5.
Then it was the turn of Chennai Super Kings to bat. The way things were going we didn’t get the chance to dance!! At every ball we expected an out, but it didn’t happen... They were 55 for no loss and that's when the sky turned gray and there was a gust of wind and the weather changed from hot to cool.... A section of people started dancing as if they were welcoming the rain!!! "ghanan ghanan ghir ghir aaye badra!!" would have been an apt song!! And lo and behold, it started raining... Even though we were under the shade we got drenched... Then came the trickiest part- jumping over seats... People from the lower rows were coming up towards the shade & we all had to move up hopping over the concrete benches, one miss would have ended up in an accident…but thankfully there were no mishaps.. We waited.. It was a never before experience -enjoying the rain and storm in a open stadium...
The rain stopped... we expected the game to resume and awaited the much hoped for KKR win…but our hopes were shattered when it was declared that CSK won the game by the Duckworth-Lewis method...
The adventure was not yet over... Coming out of the stadium was another ordeal but we managed... Excited, tired, drenched in sweat and then rain, sun burnt, dejected at not being able to win and that too a must win game…it was a gamut of emotions...But an experience that I will never forget...
Don’t know what the die-hard test cricket fans say about these match formats... But I can say by what I saw that IPL has really caught the nation's attention... especially the youngsters... A match which wraps up in 3-3.5 hours…This is something like instant maggi, instant Pizza to them!! Cricket with bollywood celebrities and bit of song and dance thrown in and of course cheerleaders (how could I forget them. sorry guys!!!) who's complaining ?!!! So here's to IPL, the heady cocktail of energy, adrenalin, entertainment, masala and high TRP- hip hip hurray!!!
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