Hmmm...IPL, a mantra which has been the craze of the nation for the last 40 odd days! With most of my friends and relatives rooting for Chennai Super Kings, I chose to cheer for the Royal Challengers of Bangalore. Sounded a bit off-track, but I liked the unit better than Chennai and it had my icon Rahul 'The Wall' Dravid leading them...
The journey for the team hadn't been a pleasant one. However, I set my mind to see em play down here against Chennai. Tickets? Well, a rat race was on. But, I happened to get a season ticket from one of my friends who wasn't interested in that day's game. Hence,it was game on for the 21st of May, Banaglore Royal Challengers vs Chennai SuperKings at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk. But well, the wee hours before the game were like the climax of an action packed Hollywood film!
3:00 PM- I anxiously look at the clock at my office (I train as an Articled assistant at an Accounting firm in Chennai at Alwarpet). The heat beams down on us. So, we fellow students decide to go out for a drink. Its oven hot. Must have been a tad higher than 41 degrees!
3:30 PM- We return to our seats at office. Things havn't changed. I text my cousins on my mobile that I would be back home by 5 PM. Plans worked out to start at 5.30 in order to listen to some playback singers too at the stadium.
4:00 PM- The heat is wiped off like a magician casting a weather changing spell. The blanket of grey hovers above Alwarpet. I console myself telling it would not rain and I will get to witness a full Twenty20 contest with no overs reduced due to rain delays.
4:30 PM- The Clouds get murkier and darker. Not a great sign before a match which you have been longing to make it for the last 20 odd days! I wrap up my work at the office. Step2... A half-hearted approach towards the boss's cabin requesting for an early departure.
4:45 PM- I approach the boss and explain my agenda for the evening. Permission granted. I hit the road in less than 20 seconds from my boss's nod! looking up at the skies, I curse the Gods for having fixed this day off the whole goddamn summer to chill out!!
5:15 PM- I reach home. Cousins had been waiting for sometime now. I make a quick dash to the restroom, freshen up, and all of us are about to leave. And Kazoom, The rain pours down like never before. My heart sinks. With a great sigh, I sink to the recliner. But, wait... Is it Raining all over Chennai? Duh! As far as my geography knowledge went, I thought it rained all over a city!
5:45 PM- My dad makes a call to his friend at Triplicane (a place hardly a kilometer away from the ground!). Good news. No rain yet at Chepauk! We hit the streets with raincoats and catch an auto.
6:40 PM- The auto break down. The autowala gets off and tries his tricks. 15 minutes, yet no signs of the auto kicking itself into life again! He has almost given up. After another couple of minutes of hard thinking, he decides to meddle with the system of the auto for 1 last time. WOW! This is when I started having some positive hope about the game that night!
7:10 PM- We reach Chepauk. Ah! The gates! The Stadium has an entrance for each of its bloody stands! We walk, rather jog, the entire circumference of the stadium and finally, get to out ticket gates. Its 7:25 by then... Just in time for the toss...
7:40 PM- Oops! The rain followed us here! Its started to drizzle. Players are still training for the game, after a few minutes, they walk off the field! There are big groans across the stadium.
7:55 PM - Hmmm... The drizzle stops. The umpires come out for an inspection. After a few mintues, the commentator announces the game would begin by 8:15 PM! Not bad! Just a 15 minute delay. So, no overs would be lost!
I looked like a total jackass in the first innings of the game that night as my team, RC Bangalore had scored the slowest IPL century and had posted a very humble 126 off their 20 overs. But, I was glad to see Dravid bat his way to a well made 47 runs. The 2nd half, I was beaming almost the entire duration of 20 overs as the Royal Challengers of Bangalore pushed Chennai into their worst defeat bundling them off for a meagre 110 runs! My cousins still mock at me telling My Team's IPL is over already and winning now makes no difference. I simply replied, ' Shut Up! We spoilt ur party today!'
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