It was the month of September, and the fixture of ICC T20 World Cup 2009 was already framed, of which a newspaper cutting was in my possession. I got it from the sports pages of an Urdu based newspaper Srinagar Times. As usual I attended the school morning assembly, that day Pakistan was going to take on Australia at Super Sport Park Centurion South Africa. There was only one concern in my mind including some cricket fans of my school, how to watch or listen to the first innings of this crucial match.
A nudge on my by back in the morning assembly, as I turned back it was one of the guys, who was usually called with a Nickname “Dravid”. He always recalled his shots and tried to emulate them. He passed a message saying, how we can watch the first innings. In reply I forwarded him a short message, so that no indiscipline may get created during the assembly – “Have a solution, will let you know after assembly”. As the assembly concluded and we all were leaving towards our classrooms, Dravid and company were so passionate to know about my plan. He said to me, “Tell me now how we can watch the match. I replied “there is no need to worry, I have brought my little radio set” as he listened to all this, he felt so joyous.
It was now 1:30 pm and Mr. Dravid and his associates were waiting for me in the school premises. I switched on my radio and set the frequency band and tuned to “All India Radio station” and the advertisement of “BSNL” was airing, which was a clear sign that the match had begun. By our luck we had not missed the “pitch report” besides the analysis by cricket experts in the studio, which we used to relish. However, as usual, the school bell rang out again at 2:00 pm.
I switched off my radio and went inside the classroom. Mr. Dravid and I changed our seats and went to the back corner, so to get a chance to listen to some live commentary. In the mean time our Mathematics class began and Mr. Bhat Sahab, began with “Trigonometric functions”, easy to learn and grasp. As the teacher began to write on black backboard, I got a chance to “Switch ON” my radio, which I has put beneath my bag. I was so crazy to know who won the toss? Whether they elected to bat or bowl first? Who is on the crease? That time such questions were important than the “Tangents” drawn on the black backboard. My eyes were on the blackboard but my attention to my radio. In the meantime, Kamran Akmal was bowled by Watson and I uttered “OUT” in a high pitch. I was caught red handed with a Chinese made “Kchibo” Radio set.
Tailpiece: Australia won that match with 3 wickets. There was agony, ecstasy and a bit of indifference. This was a cricket fan’s musing. Dear esteemed readers, for a cricket fan it is now time to learn, settle down and just enjoy the game for what it is – a sport.