World Cup Baby :)

Dear America,
Please don’t be shocked to witness random shrieks of anguish or tears from the nerdy intern at work or the gorgeous girl sitting at the library for the next 42 days. There is no cause for alarm as this uncanny behavior is not due to depression or a hormonal change. It is purely the charm of the Cricket World Cup that comes around every 4 years. Yes, I’m emphasizing the word “World” because countries from all over the globe participate in it unlike something called the “World Series” of baseball. Oh also pardon me for being ignorant but for the one’s who don’t know anything about Cricket, there are still 13 hours for you to learn all about this fascinating sport. So stop pretending to do work on a Friday and get on Google and read up.

Dear Observers,
It would be highly appreciated if you don’t call the cops if you see some kids in the streets walking around with a paddle and flags that you don’t recognize. This is perfectly accepted behavior from where we come so please don’t ruin our party.

Dear Neighbor,
Please don’t call the housing company if you hear loud cheers at wee hours of the morning, as this, in no way, is our response to that crazy loud party that you threw three months ago.

Dear Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts Employees,
Please don’t feel offended if we sound cranky first thing in the morning. We have either had a fight with the missus or our beloved team just lost a nail biting game to our all time foes.

Dear Boss,
Please don’t mind if we look tired and occasionally take a nap during the staff meeting. The timings of the matches are not best suited to our work environment so please try to understand.

Dear Significant Other,
Please don’t mind if we fail to pay attention to you. It is not that we are cheating on you with another man/woman; it’s just that we are pursuing our first love
And finally,

Dear Bangladesh, England, West Indies, South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Canada, Kenya, Ireland, New Zealand and Zimbabwe
Please don’t mind if we slaughter your asses and you go back home hurt. We i.e. Indians don’t mean to be so harsh on you but this is probably the Almighty, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar’s, last World Cup and we owe this to him as a team, country or simply a fan of the sport. There will be no respite so we suggest you don’t take this mauling to heart and carry on playing this so called gentleman’s game. Here is a rehashed jingle that our friend, Enrique Iglesias created for our oppositions.
“You know our motivation,
Given our reputation,
Please excuse us we don’t mean to be rude
Coz on game nights we are f**ing you”

Thanks,
Indian’s in America

All I want for Christmas is a Hobby

Yes, I know it’s been long since I updated this blog but I can’t be faulted this time around. The past few month’s have been quite eventful to say the least. I finally found a job to counter my extravagant lifestyle and have gotten sucked into the so called “8-5″ routine life. Then there was an entire month dedicated to family, especially to all the home cooked delicacies that I got to devour (gobble, gobble, burp). Let me tell you it was an awesome month as I got to attend a lovely wedding followed by a visit to the Big Apple. After acting really silly and posing for pictures with wax figures of famous people at Madame Tussauds I think I finally grew up when I saw the famous Broadway show Mamma Mia. I am known for not being impressed really easily, but after watching such wonderful artists give stellar performances in this amazing musical, even a big mouth like me was left in awe joining the rest of the audience in giving a standing ovation and clapping like a 5 year old who finally saw his favorite Disney character. For those who have never seen a Broadway show, I highly recommend it. Even though it can be quite a harrowing experience in trying to attain tickets to such shows thanks to the long waits in the cold, I promise that this is every bit worth the effort.
So, now that all these events are of the past and that I have time to myself, I don’t quite know where to start and what to do. I feel extremely productive during the weekdays thanks to my new job but it is the weekends that make me fell utterly useless. I remember I used to criticize my friends who held jobs that they had become so boring and lame since they started work. Now I totally symphathise with them when they used to say that they are tired and don’t feel like doing anything after a long day at work.
Now before I get sucked further into this deep, dark black hole of no return I want to find a hobby for myself that will keep me upbeat and motivated in the evenings after work. With the onset of winter in Boston and darkness looming at 4 p.m. I know that I won’t last the winter without doing something new and exciting. So any help in this regard would be really appreciated, what say you??
On a positive note in the sporting front, all the teams I support are making hay while the sun shines. The Indian Cricket Team seems to be doing really well after resting stalwarts like Sachin and Sehwag, which is a big relief. Australians still don’t seem to know what hit them in the Ashes. Celtics seem to be getting stronger, game after game, and Rajon Rondo, what more can I say, Sir, please take a bow. Last but not the least there is my favorite, Arsenal Footbal Club, that never seizes to provide excitement in my otherwise mundane life. It will be thanks to this football club that I might die of a cardiac arrest at a really young age. With their week in-week out of beautiful football perfomances that provide orgasmic moments followed by moments of sheer madness, life would be so much easier if they could settle into a rhythm. Now I’m sure you all get the point that I’m trying to make and please help me find a creative hobby that will save me from rambling on this blog without any particular reason =)
Ohh and before I forget, as the holiday season is upon us I would like to wish all a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year or whatsoever festival that you celebrate. Have fun, be good and stay safe

Let the Good Times Roll

We're the 12 best frens that anyone can have

Boston University Cricket Club participated in the American Cricket Championship held at Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the second time in two years. Last year we lost all games and came back home with a heavily bruised ego. Before I get into the gory details of this particular trip I would like to say that I have not had so much fun since leaving high school and would like to thank all the players for making this possible. This trip was definitely a break that I needed to get my mind off the recent events and the uncertain future.

Day 0 (Boston)
There is a saying that “boys will be boys” and this nicely sums up the day of our departure from Boston. As usual apart from one person nobody showed up on time at the airport. Then there was the confusion regarding seating, luggage and the uncertainty whether we will all make it to the same flight as we were travelling by a carrier called Spirit Air that is best known for heavily overbooking. As things would pan out we all made it to the flight but not without a few facing the brunt of the usual TSA bullshit. There are two Pakistanis amongst us but as luck would have it one of them had to go through the harassment of being repeatedly checked for holding a green passport. Once this was over and we settled into the flight one could see the excitement amongst the so called “MIAMI Virgins”. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at around midnight and just to get the ball rolling decided to meet at Denny’s for dinner and our first official meeting. We enjoyed a perfectly unhealthy meal before our first game and went to sleep in anticipation for the next day to arrive sooner.

Day 1 (Fort Lauderdale)
Excitement got the better of a few and we were up well before our alarms went off. The whole team got into their crispy new uniforms and head out to the stadium to show that they are here to compete and not make up the numbers. We showed our intent first thing in the morning when a few choice words were exchanged between our Vice Captain and the whole NYU Poly team. We were upbeat and ready for the challenge but little did we know what fate would have in store for us at the end of the day. Just before the game started we were dealt a blow when we were informed that the official scorer had failed to show up and that the teams would be self scoring which more often than not usually leads to controversy. I won the toss and elected to bat first so that we could put up a big score and pressurize the team chasing. Our main batsmen failed to deliver but still we ended up scoring 127 in the allotted 20 over’s. Our bowling being our strength led the fight back and we had the NYU team reeling at 36 for 4 in 10 over’s when things started going against us. The scorer’s from the NYU team randomly started increasing runs and made the target for them easier. We still fought hard but it was only a matter of time that we realized that the cricketing God’s weren’t on our side when the umpire too failed to give a batsman out for being bowled. Yes, the umpire overturned a bowled decision!!! The game ended on a sour note and let’s says that it was a miracle that the teams didn’t come to blows by the end of it. Thoroughly disappointed, the president of the club and I went to talk to the organizers and his lame response being, “You guys should just be thankful that you are here” strengthened our resolve.

Day 2 (Fort Lauderdale)
Feeling a little disappointed we reluctantly got onto the field on the second day facing one of the strongest teams in the competition. Rutgers University had got a lot of press for this tournament and were the favorites to win the group and proceed to the semi-finals of the tournament. This time around I lost the toss and we were sent into bat. Out batting clicked this time around and we ended up scoring 142 for 6 in the allotted 20 over’s. Rutgers University were off to a flying start but we persevered and gained control of the match. One of our bowlers bowled a magic three wicket over which turned the match on its head. We ended up winning comfortably and proved to the organizers that were not here to make friends but compete with the so called big boys. This was the first game in the stadium that was recently approved by the ICC to host international matches and we had marked our names in history by winning it. This historical event was covered and the report can be seen here . We celebrated this victory by heading out to the world famous South Beach in Miami. After a night of fun and frolic we came back to get some much needed rest before the DO or DIE Saturday.

Day 3 (Fort Lauderdale)
Not being known for its physical fitness the team showed signs of fatigue early Saturday morning. We knew that we could not afford to slip up if we were to reach the Semi-finals, and, this task was made even harder as we had a double header with a gap of three hours between games. I lost the toss again and York College decided to make use of the slippery outfield by batting first. Their opening batsman, a regular in the USA under-19 team walked out with immense confidence and nonchalantly dispatched the first delivery he faced for a boundary. Our bowlers showed their mettle and soon he was outfoxed by an in swinger. From there onwards it was all BUCC until fatigue started to creep into our game and unnecessary runs were given. We were set a target of 137 and lost our in-form opener to the very first ball he faced. This was a big set-back and the top order again succumbed to pressure. Our resilient middle order again came to the rescue and got us within striking distance. We ended up losing the game by one run which was a hard pill to swallow as we came so close to beating a team and securing a berth into the semi-finals. This loss affected in the next game against University of Pennsylvania and we lost that one by about twenty runs.
Some players resorted to alcohol while some to partying to deal with the sorrow of not making it to the semi-finals. Miami again lived up to its expectation and turned out to be awesome and the events of the night shall not be disclosed unless the reader meets one of us in person. No, this has nothing to do with picking up random women or going to a strip club as most people would assume which as much as I would hate saying would be a good story too .
Finally to sum up this trip, we proved that BUCC is no longer a push over and that other teams should not take us for granted. We caused a major upset and proved to be worthy adversaries as mentioned by one of the members of the opposing teams. As a captain I love the aggressive attitude and the fighting spirit shown by the team. In the words of a fellow team member, “It was an honor to have played with each one of you” and I whole-heartedly agree with these sentiments. I hope that this trip was a wonderful experience for one and all and that newer friendships have developed that will take this team to greater heights.