by
Bored Member
By VM
A few days ago, for some strange reason, I tried to remember the first cricket match I watched. I was rather surprised that it took me some time to sort things out of a muddle of memories. The early matches - in which I was trying to understand the rules - I recall only in bits and pieces. In fact in such pieces that remember only one of the two teams that played the match – Pakistan. I’m not sure if it was the ’92 World Cup final or the Benson and Hedges Cup in the late 80s – again I might be wrong with the tournament name. Then there was another match, in which India played some team. India were chasing and needed 20 runs to win, but the 10th wicket fell, and I remember Kumble was the not-out man and I was wondering why they wouldn’t move on. “There is still another guy with a bat”, I thought. I smile when I think of how ignorant I was then.
The next memory that came to my mind was the ’96 World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens– a one that I watched partly due to peer pressure and partly due to the curiosity. The bottle throwing, Tendulkar batting; yes, I remember some of that clearly. What came to mind next was a clearer memory, in which I watched, knowing fully well what I watching and purely for the interest of the game – the ’99 Sharjah Cup where Ajay Jadeja captained a few matches rather well. This is the tournament that got me hooked. I became a cricket-watching regular from then on.
So I ask you this. Is there a particular match that comes to your mind when you think of the first ever cricket match you saw? Are there any fuzzy memories? Any funny memories? What was your first full fledged tournament? What made you watch further?
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