I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life a few weeks ago. I was on an Oil and Gas platform, in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Coast of Trinidad, watching Dhoni lead India to a magnificent victory over the Sri Lankans. With me were a cheering and shall we say a really boisterous group of Trinidadians and a lone Texan who till that day had never really seen a game of cricket. This was internationalism, globalism.… all the isms that convey the oneness of human spirit at its best!
The day started at 5.00am – I was up early and walked down in my pajamas to the galley –or the cafeteria as we people who live onshore would call it- to see the match on a TV there. The picture was grainy – but good enough for us to follow. Zaheer was working his magic and Bhajji was keeping the Lankans wrapped around his finger. I ducked in and out as I attended meetings and grabbed breakfast. The Trinidadians were good sport – “You from India maan? Yeah Saachin – he great bat,” “Who you supportin?” We made small talk. I missed most of the Sri Lankan batting. I popped in at the 42nd over – and the Lankans were still barely reaching 200. I walked out again thinking well maybe they will get 230-240. I had to go for a meeting which lasted a while.
Then, when I came back one of the Trinidadians asked me –“You think India gonna win?” “I said why yeah, how much did the Lankans score?” I was aghast when I heard 275. What?? Somebody must have been hammered badly! Later on I found out it was Zaheer. “Yeah, them Sri Lanka got plenty runs” piped a voice behind me. “ Gonna be tough for India” said another, adding “Malinga – watch out for ‘im”
10 mins later – I heard a loud voice on the public announcement system “Injia – nought for one, Injia, nought for one.” My mind was screaming – I ran out of the meeting room, in my heavy safety boots, to the galley. There Malinga was exulting after after trappin’ Sehwag in front of the wicket. “Well Sachin gonna make it; he in good form now” consoled a Trinidadian. About 20 of them sat there watching the game.
And as I watched it, I could see all the fun and joy of the Carribean islands in the small room 600 feet over the ocean floor. Not only did they really enjoy their cricket; they also enjoyed enjoying their cricket. Wagers flew fast around the room –after India was down three wickets, the odds went the Sri Lankan way. At over 40 the Indians were back in favour – no emotions attached to the money – just pure practicality and a genuine desire to watch good cricket and have some fun!
The other reason this day was so memorable – was because I managed to teach cricket to Dave from Texas. Now Dave had heard of a game called cricket – but beyond that he didn’t really know whether it was played on the ground or under water. But he stood there with me, my companion in one of the finest moments in an Indian’s life and watched the entire game with me! Having been exposed to baseball throughout his life, he could visualize a ball being hurled at a piece of wood held by a human being. But after that, the game was a mystery – who was a batter er.. a batsman and who was a runner? What does the runner do? Just run – oh they rotate the batting..okay – now what is a run? Well that’s easy .. but now four runs and a home run…no no six runs – wow a six runner!
By 3/4th of the game, bug had bitten Dave. He stood there spellbound – watching this magical game being played in front of 50,000 screaming Indians and a bunch of boisterous Trinis. He watched Yuvraj and Gambhir dismantle the Lankan bowling and Dhoni send them south of the Indian Ocean! He was there screaming for India, giving me moral support and generally having a good time. At one point he shouted “That’s a six runner!” I had converted Dave to Cricket. At the end, he told me, “you taught a Texan cricket - you can teach anybody anything.” Now that’s a compliment.
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