Cricket: An Obsession

There’s something about those scorching North Indian summers that instantly brings back memories of rushing home from school, eager to catch the remaining overs of a five-day Test match. Cricket wasn’t just a game; it was an obsession that crept up on me when I wasn’t even paying attention, and it remains one to this day. Cricket in India is more than just a sport; it’s a religion, followed by millions across the country.

Growing up, cricket was everywhere. Whether it was the live commentary booming shops or the energetic debates about who should be selected for the national team, the sport was part of daily life. As kids, we idolized cricketers like Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Dravid, and imitated their stances and shots on every street corner. Cricket was how we made friends, built rivalries, and spent our endless summer evenings.

When I moved to the U.S., I carried my love for cricket with me. However, adjusting to the time difference made following the live matches a bit tricky. Though I couldn’t always watch full matches, I made sure to at least follow the scores and highlights, especially for important series like India vs. Australia or The Ashes or the World Cups. One fact that still surprises me, even now, is that the first international cricket match wasn’t played between traditional cricketing nations like England or Australia or India, but between the United States and Canada! This historic game took place on September 24, 1844, at St George’s Cricket Club in New York City—a little-known fact that always gets my American friends curious about cricket’s history here.

Of course, explaining the game to my friends in the U.S. requires a bit of creativity. Cricket and baseball are cousins, but vastly different. I usually start by telling them to think of baseball but in a 360-degree field. Instead of running around bases, in cricket, you run between two sets of wooden stumps (called wickets), and hitting the ball over the boundary earns six runs, similar to a home run. But cricket’s beauty lies in its intricacies. The flat bat, the techniques of bowling—where the ball often bounces off the ground rather than being pitched directly—and the strategic nature of field placements make it a fascinating game. My American friends often laugh at the complexity of the rules, especially when I tell them that some matches can last up to five days!

There are three main formats in cricket: T20s, which wrap up in around four hours, One-Day Internationals (ODIs) that last a full day, and the pinnacle—Test matches, which stretch over five days of intense gameplay. Each format has its own charm. T20 is fast-paced and action-packed, perfect for the modern audience. ODIs balance excitement with strategy, while Test cricket is the ultimate test of skill, patience, and endurance. Test matches, in particular, are like chess—where each session can turn the tide of the game, and sometimes, a single decision can dictate the outcome of the entire match.

In India, cricket isn’t just confined to the grand stadiums with roaring crowds. Every street, market, or open space transforms into a makeshift pitch. “Gully cricket” or street cricket was a huge part of my childhood too. We would set up stumps made of bricks or whatever we could find, and play with tennis balls to avoid breaking windows. The rules were flexible, adapting to the conditions of the street or alley. Sometimes a one-bounce catch was out, or hitting the ball into a neighbor’s yard meant automatic disqualification!

Gully cricket taught us the raw passion for the game. It was competitive, but it was also pure fun. We played for hours, taking breaks only to refuel with snacks or to wait for a neighbor’s car to pass by. As I grew older, my focus shifted towards studies, but cricket remained a constant backdrop. In school, we’d often debate the latest matches during lunch breaks, and we even played a paper-based cricket game called “Odd-Even.” Believe it or not, these paper tournaments became fiercely competitive. We would create mock teams, draft players, and simulate matches on paper, and the excitement was palpable.

For me, cricket is not just a game—it’s about the players who elevate it to an art form. My all-time favorite cricketer is Virat Kohli, or as his fans call him, “King Kohli.” Watching him bat is like watching a master at work. His aggressive yet calculated style, his relentless drive to chase down targets, and his leadership on the field make him one of the greatest cricketers of this generation. I’ve followed his career closely, from his early days to becoming the captain of the Indian cricket team, and it’s his passion and dedication that fuel my love for the sport.

A few years ago, my passion for both cricket and data intersected when I created a PowerBI dashboard of my favorite cricketer – Virat Kohli. I don’t recall what made me do it but I remember spending hours pulling in data, designing graphs, and making the dashboard as visually appealing as possible. Recently, I stumbled upon the old code of the dashboard hidden in one of my previous websites. While I can’t recall the exact data sources or how accurate it is, it reignited a desire to create something bigger and better—a live, interactive cricket dashboard. I think this could be my next project: combining my love for cricket and data engineering into something truly unique.

Cricket isn’t just my obsession—it’s part of my routine. My wife knows that if there’s a crucial game on a Friday or Saturday night, I’m glued to the screen. I’ve stayed up all night for a number of weekend nights, from 10 PM to 7 AM or even later, just to watch those nail-biting moments when every ball counts. Cricket tests your patience, your nerves, and your understanding of the game’s nuances. It’s not just about hitting sixes or taking wickets—it’s about strategy, decision-making, and those tiny moments that can change the course of a match.

If you’ve never watched cricket before, I urge you to give it a try. Sit down or chat with me, and within a game or two, you’ll understand why cricket is more than just a sport—it’s a way of life haha. The layers of complexity, the blend of athleticism and tactics, and the sheer excitement make it a game like no other. And for me, that’s what makes cricket so captivating and enjoyable—it’s a passion that will stay with me for life.