Cricket fever!

Noooo, I never was a very big cricket freak (apart from playing bat and ball when I was very small).
For a lot of people, Cricket is almost a religion and if everyone became a cricket fanatic we could have a war only because of cricket..

Cricket fever caught me in the face of Sachin tendulkar!
Ever since the day I saw him. (in real) sigh!!

I still remember vividly, I was at the Taj Bengal, having a buffet lunch with my sister and aunt, and as we stepped out of the coffee shop, my aunt nudged me and said "Sachin." He was right there in front of me and I was dumbstruck..He looked cho cute. I had seen him on TV but he looked so much cuter right there and he looked at me.. I almost fainted!
Now, I was a very headstrong and egoistic girl, I wouldn't dream of going to him, even for autograph, though a bunch of girls came from nowhere and started harassing him and trying to get close to him. I was like, "okay, so girls might be after you, but not me (as if he cared two hoots). Soon the entire Indian team came  and boarded a bus and went away.
The ride back home was spent swooning and dreaming about, what if, i did go to him.......

After this, I hit on cricket big time. I wouldn't dream of missing any matches where India played and wouldn't miss a ball ever. Soon it was time for world cup 1996 and the semi finals was to be held in Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The teams were India and Sri-lanka. I was desperate to see Sachin again and I had to get myself a pass to be able to go to the stadium and watch him LIVE. I did get the pass and a cousin for company.
I watched the match till Sachin got out and we decided we should return as the match would go on till midnight. When Sachin got out, all hopes of a win was squashed and it was our good fortune we left, because the match was abandoned shortly thereafter, as the spectators got angry and started burning posters and throwing empty bottles on the field..
Here is a picture of the incident..(from this site)

It was a shameful act by Calcutta, and is still a black mark on Eden Garden's history.
Anyways, like all my wishes, this too was a hit and a miss.
In any case, he was already married.. :(