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Its amazing how a really bad day can become so exciting in a matter of moments (and then, actually manage to turn sour again). Today was one of those exceptional experiences I had, courtesy livin’ in a boys hostel in Pune.

The chain of events started with 3 sixes of 4 balls by Sachin against Australia, on a off-resolution television set at a roadside restaurant.

Now, who can walk away from that!!!

I was hardly aware of the Indo-Australian one-day cricket series going on, let alone the fact that there was a match today. Australia had posted a mammoth total of 350, and India had started off pretty well, thanks to our ever-reliable Sachin!!! If not for any other reason, we got stuck with the match as Sachin was storming Australia as a terrifying one-man army.

Somehow we (me and two of my friends) managed to leave the match and reached our hostel, with all the plans to get to our books. But once there, we could hear hoots and screams every 30 seconds coming from the TV room in our hostel. We resisted for 3-4 mins, but soon were sprinting towards the TV room ourselves to catch the last few overs of the match.

As I entered the TV room, there were close to 150 people sprawled around a single TV set, straining to get a glimpse of the screen over a sea of heads and limbs. Some had found chairs to sit, most were sprawled on the floor around the TV, and uncountable others standing around to catch the match. Some had even got a small ladder in the room, to get a view over all the standing people..!!!!

The atmosphere was as electric as watchin’ a live match, if not more. There was applause and whistles on every single run scored or even a wide-ball. In the case of a boundary or a six, the noise was deafening!!!! Well, in the case of a dot-ball or a wicket, the slur of abuses was even greater..!!!

Everyone was cheering Sachin to make a double century, chanting everytime he came to the crease. But 40 odd runs away from victory, Sachin lost his wicket. Then came the ohh-so-familiar scene with Indian cricket. Once Sachin was out, the Indian batting fell like a pack of cards, losing finally by 3 runs. The disappointment of the 100+ crowd was tremendous. Chairs were thrown around in frustration, people were pissed as hell. Not as pissed as I was!!

But soon as the frustration of the loss went down, a totally different side of the episode came to me…..

Its amazing how so many people, who hardly know each other, speak the same language and share the same emotions when it comes to cricket!!!

Its amazing how the 150 people in the room (and millions all over the country) simultaneously roar together, as a natural response to a sixer by Sachin, how they gasp at a miss-run, how they simultaneously groan when Sachin got caught. I wonder how many people must have thrown stuff around in frustration of India losing.

Its amazing how at the end of the match, I realized one of the guys sitting amongst the 150 was actually blind. I had seen the guy hooting all along the match, and not realized once that he couldn’t see. Such was the atmosphere that you didn’t need to be able to see, to feel the intensity.

Its amazing how I was so engrossed in the cricket match, that I was slouching over the shoulders of the cook of the canteen where I eat everyday, together shouting at every ball. In any other setting, I wouldn’t have imagined doing so.

Its amazing how much better the experience of watching the match was given that you were watching it with a group of 150 people instead of watching the match alone at home!!! Even though India lost the match…the experience was, well….

AMAZING!!!!

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