It doesnt start just caz u read an old englishman commenting that this game is played by eleven fools & eleven thousand fools watch it. It doesnt start caz u see ur dad bringing home a new color tv set when you are in the second standard to watch a World Cup match which India loses. It doesnt start caz when you see Sachin Tendulkar the master batsman of your country belt Allan Donald the South African fast bowler for three sixes. It doesnt start caz you see your uncles talking about it every where with everyone. It doesnt start because every second second guy has an opinion on how kapil dev should have controlled sunil gavaskar. It doesnt start just caz you see your cousins going nuts about a bat & bowl, that they have a bet with their mothers to get them one, if they top the class. It doesnt start when you see the kids in your apartment break a few windows for which they get the shit belted from their pop's. You dont know when it comes & before you even realise that its up to nerves, its there & even you want to do the same thing.

So you also start doing the same thing. You say amma get me a bat for which she says the same thing, to top the class. Then you remember your cousins having new bats & balls, so you too agree for the bet. Once in your life you want to get to the top of the class. You strives as hard as ever & slog your a** off. But when the results are out you run to see the notice board where you find your name first. You jump in jubilation. All you remember now is that you want to smack the ball to the next street to tell the buddis there you have arrived. You run home after school as fast as you can to find a new bat labelled POWER on it. Then you remember your idol Sachin having played with the same bat. You ask your granny to prepare a cup of Boost, you have started drinking this ever since you saw ur idol do that. After the cup of boost you jump your compound to enter into the world of fantacy, according to you. You smack the tennis ball that came free with the Boost bootle all across the street. You dont want to get out since it may be just only once that you may get to hold that bat that day. You want to bat all the five overs that match was supposed to be played for. But apparently some one delivers a long hop which you try to wack out of the boundry line but end up getting caught just near the line. You wait for another oppurtunity to bat the same day, which doesnt turn up. You hear your mom screaming for you to return home to study, which at this point of time you hate to do. You bid adiue to your freinds promising them to return the next day at the same time who too are being pulled into their house's by their respective momies.

Now when you see the glimse of that text book which you have read half way through to prove a point that you can do anything for a bet, you are reminded of the match you played that evening. You start filling the circles of O's and the zeros with ink. You keep doing this till your dad returns from work & asks you few questions on the lessons that you have read that day. Now you give him a look & impression that this coming test you are going to score no more than the very Zero, after which you were after. When you have two pinches & one scar that you are going to get the shit belted of you for not doing your homework you realise that you need to get back to studies. You think the next day is yours & you will play the full five overs. Next day turns up & you keep doing the same thing. This goes on for a while till after your exams.

The last day of your exams you are delighted. All you can think about is how you can spend your time in the ground next to your house with all your friends playing. Then you get back home & have a glimse at your school diary just to see the home works you have been assigned for the holiday period. You get a shock of your life when you see you may have to spend more time doing these home works than having enugh time to play. You decide against doing this & you start discussuiong innovative ways to get the hell out of this. So you decide to assign all the homework in the last week of your holidays. You hear your granny shouting that your Boost is getting cold in the dinning table. You boost up your confidence by drinking that, after which you try to walk like your child hood idol to the ground with the bat on your shoulders giving an impression to all the on lookers that you are his duplicate. You spend all your time that you have on that ground or at the street where your house is located. You think you will not get troubled by your mom this time but you again hear the scream sharp at the same hour, but not from your mom though from the neighbouring aunty since you have crashed her bathroom window glasses. You run like crazy till no one can see you. You are filled with mud in your shoes or chappals, shirts, shorts & skin. The only way some one can recognise you is by looking at your bat & the words POWER. You hide your way to get into your house to see the same aunty having a chat with your mom.

So you are restricted & given a warning to reduce the amount of time you play outside. You are restricted to indoor cricket with your cousins, even that doesnt last for long since you break your granny's nose. Even for which you need to spend four days in the hospital looking after her. The holidays gets away too soon even before you can spend enough time in the ground. To your bad luck your best friend drops your new bat which costed 90 rupees into the wel by mistake. Since you cry before your freind for a mistake of your friend your parents decide to forgive you & send you to your other grand parents house. When you come back you suddenly realise that you have just 4 days for the school to reopen. You use all your innovative methods that you have developed all these while after conferring with your friends to get eventually caught by your teachers at school. Since you know them pretty well you get excused after given a warning. The next year starts & the same thing continues till your primary school ends.