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chief blogger
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Cricket & your City, Cricket in your City
Tell us about cricket and what it means to your city, how it is followed, any RCB fans there?
We want to know about it all
We want to know about it all
I love fine legs, getting bowled over, Kookaburras, love to ‘singh’, slog and blog. That pretty much sums up my LOVE for cricket, yes cricket (I have no idea what you were thinking about =P). Now, coming to my city... Bangalore. I think I can safely say that Bangalore has the best fan following when it comes to cricket, whether it’s for team India or the Royal Challengers.
Coming from Bangalore I don't think the cricket back here requires any introduction. Apart from the legends we have produced over the years such as Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad to name a few, the enthusiasm shown by the people towards the game is unparalleled when compared to any other city, not only in India but around the world.
Every single match the stadium is jam-packed full of avid, passionate, zealous and FANATICAL fans! Getting a ticket for a match here is harder than getting a seat in one of the IIMs and trust me on that one (I somehow manage to get tickets for most matches in Bangalore, so I guess my seat at IIM-B is booked =D). To prove that we’re the best in India we even got the "Best Ground" award at the IPL awards. Upcoming cricketers like Manish Pandey, Virat Kohli Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun make us proud and I'm sure that each and every one of them if given the chance can prove their worth at the highest level of the game. I've been in Bangalore all my life and there isn't any city that follows cricket the way Bangalore does. A typical night when Bangalore's playing a match:
1) No cars on the road.
2) No autos on the road.
3) Everybody's TV set has the cricket match on.
4) If the match is in Bangalore you can hear fans screaming from the stadium from as far as 2 kilometres.
5) All showrooms (Electronic retailers) with TVs start becoming conspicuously crowded. I wonder why so many people feel like buying TV sets all of a sudden =P.
Our cosmopolitan-ness (Yes, I just made up that word. You’ll have more of that, get used to it ) makes us a truly global city. We’re a class apart.
I could go on and on about how AWESOMELY awesome we are, I'll save that for the blogging days to come. =P
Cover a local cricket match.
How the game was played, controversies on the ground, injuries and who bags the gold at the end
of the match. Build the excitement with your words.
of the match. Build the excitement with your words.
Punjab Get “Jacqued”
So the Royal Challengers were getting all geared up for their second match of the season (2010). All the fans including me were excited, confident, as well as a bit anxious as we lost the first match against Kolkata. A lot of expectation was riding on us, since we were the runners-up of the previous season. There was added pressure due to the fact that we were playing on our home ground for the first time this season.
Royal Bangalore Challengers vs. Kings XI Punjab it was. I was all excited about the match and I’m impatiently waiting to leave home for the match. Finally, as time nears the start time of the match, about an hour and a half before the match I leave home to get a front row seat. As tough as it was to find autos I managed to find one after a searching around. As I got near the stadium I could hear the cheering getting louder and louder. As I reached the stadium the noise got deafening. With about half the stadium full, by the time I got there (Around 25,000 people) the stadium was buzzing with the letters... “R-C-B! R-C-B! R-C-B!” Climbing up the stairs to enter your stand is an experience one will NEVER forget. Tens of thousands of people cheering for the team you love is an experience that I wouldn’t really be able to describe with mere words, an experience out of this world. I then quickly scrambled to my seat. As game time was approaching the crowd got louder and louder and there wasn’t a seat left in the stadium by the time we got to the toss. The decibel level went through the roof (The irony...). The fans were a little disappointed about the fact that we lost the toss, but hell, we were confident of “Pun-jabbing” them.
The two openers walked out to bat, Ravi Bopara and Manvinder Bisla. With a quality attack like Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, Anil Kumble, Jacques Kallis and Vinay Kumar we were quite sure of knocking them (Punjab) down like 10 pins. The openers started with a quiet first over. As the match progressed the batsmen looked more and more confident and it almost looked impossible for our bowlers to even get one wicket, forget getting the whole team out. Bislu... I mean Bisla turned up the heat! It took us 14.1 overs and 129 runs before we could make amends. Kallis got the breakthrough, by taking Bisla’s wicket. Bisla played very well for his knock of 75 and was accompanied by Ravi Bopara who also made a fine 77 who eventually got out to Praveen Kumar. A fine opening stand that gave the crowd jitters. They did enough damage to the Bangalore side and nothing could really fix the situation from that point. Banaglore could only hope to save a few runs and restrict them to a reasonable score. All that seemed to look like a distant dream as Yuvraj came out to the centre after that. Although Yuvraj got out cheaply, Mahela played a cameo and supported Ravi Bopara who played till the last over. Punjab amassed a colossal 203, over 10 runs per over.
Just as gutsy and supportive the Bangalore fans are we were worried about our chances of winning the match. At the same time, we wanted to back our team as much as we could and give them that shot of confidence, which mind you makes a BIG difference, to any team... Something called motivation.
With a lot of pressure on the Royal Challengers as well as a lot of hopes riding on them, Manish Pandey and Jacques Kallis came out to the centre. Everybody was scrambling back to their seats after a nice and filling break (mmmm.... The bondas were quite tasty). Manish Pandey nervously took guard as Kings XI Punjab’s “strike” bowler, Irfan Pathan got all set to bowl. Bangalore got off to a very good start, something we needed really badly if we wanted to win the match. Pandey and Kallis played some wonderful strokes to get the crowd’s expectations high. Some dazzling sixes and fours by the duo left the opposition in quite a tizzy. 74 for no loss at the end of 8 overs was the score when Piyush Chawla managed to bring something to cheer about for the Punjab fans. Although we were dejected we were quite confident that our batting line-up is strong and we have a lot more power hitting to come. With a good platform set, Uthappa came out to the centre. Once that happened there was no stopping the fireworks. Uthappa was creaming the bowlers all over the park as if he was playing “EA Cricket 2010”. 25 runs of one Sreesanth over, which included 3 sixes, WOW! Seriously, who needs Batman when you’ve got Robin? Just as the game was slipping away from Punjab’s hands came Bipul Sharma (Superman) in his cape, well not really in a cape, but he managed to get Robin out, finally. Now the match was really well poised with Bangalore requiring a little over 10 runs an over and with Kallis settled at the other end playing an awesome knock it looked perfectly set to finish as a thriller. Kohli played well with Kallis to get Bangalore to 170/2 in 17 overs. 34 required from 18 balls and captain courageous, Sangakkara, decides to take a gamble by bringing on Bipul Sharma who did the job last time around. Sreesanth must have spoken to Bipul Sharma before he started this over because Sharma got carted all over the park for 3 sixes and a four, exactly like Sreesanth was a few overs back and oh boy did we enjoy that! Kallis, you beauty! 23 runs off of that over left us with only 11 runs to get from the last two overs and now it was only a question of completing the formalities. With an over and a ball left we thrashed Punjab with 8 wickets remaining. It was only fitting that Kallis hit the winning runs just like he got our first breakthrough earlier in the evening. Kallis with the support of Uthappa pretty much won us the match and Kallis proved yet again that he was by no means too old for the format. The crowd went ballistic after the thumping win and fireworks (not Uthappa this time) went off and the decibel level must have touched the 120-125 mark with the whole crowd going crazy!
And that was the end of an unforgettable night. Almost like a fairytale, rather, almost like a Bollywood movie. The good guy gets thrashed in the beginning to an unimaginable extent and then makes an unbelievable comeback to claim victory. No surprises during the presentation though, Jacques Kallis won the man of the match to wrap up a perfect evening.
I CAN BE RCB'S CHIEF BLOGGER BECAUSE..
Eating, sleeping, walking and talking cricket would be an understatement for me. I am probably one of the most ardent cricket fans ever. I’ve also played cricket for my school. Cricket is one sport that I’ve loved and followed ever since my childhood and something that I’m passionate about. I make sure I get a ticket to every single match that is there in Bangalore and cheer my team. Whether it is a test match, ODI or T20 match my loyalty towards the sport doesn’t change. Being a Bangalorean and a fanatical follower of cricket many of Bangalore’s players are my idols. Rahul Dravid’s patience, Anil Kumble’s persistence, Ross Taylor’s aggressiveness and the zeal of the younger players like Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli drives me towards supporting this oh-so-awesome team.
As “mindblogging” (Read as: Mindboggling) and made-up as this sounds I am a writer by profession and after cricket this is one thing that gives me a high. Whether it is writing essays, stories, poems or anything for that matter, writing has been my passion. As they say, do what you love doing and you’ll never hate your job and that’s exactly what I believe in. As you would have observed by now that I love using puns and making up my own words every now and then. I always try to involve humour, bring in creativity and arouse as much interest and curiosity in the reader’s mind as I can.
Lastly, travelling is something that I’ve always loved and unfortunately due to various reasons all my international holidays and trips have been cancelled due to some reason or the other. This is just an added benefit to experiencing firsthand what millions of RCB fans want to and fulfilling one of my dreams.
I want to be a part of this cricketing revolution and be caught up with all the drama, excitement and passion which not too many people get to experience. I want to live the experience, a once in a lifetime opportunity.
MY REFERENCES (106)
I just found this thanks to the excellent references and I must say you do a great job. Keep up the excellent job. I can't wait to read more.
149 week(s) ago
Hey big brother. Sorry for voting last minute, but it all adds up. All the best, hope you win. =D
149 week(s) ago
Nothing to say moree.... simply great ! very fine way of writing with all needed things ... All the very best wishes ..
149 week(s) ago
I am also RCB supporter .......... I like this blog very much thank you for your informations ..........
149 week(s) ago
You seem to be really knowledgeable about Cricket. Love the way you write. Good luck.
149 week(s) ago
Well written description. It's kind of painted an image in my mind. I wish I had gone for that match! :D
149 week(s) ago
Really, your way writing is good. I am very impressed. Hope you will win. All the very best
149 week(s) ago
Well done on the description. Looking forward to reading more of your work on the RCB blog.
149 week(s) ago
Kushal Sheth you deserve the best, voted for your best article writing skill and presentation in above article
149 week(s) ago
Very interesting approach in writing. This article is written well in a stylish way so that it creates interest in everyone who read. Language used is attractive and I'm sure that you will win. Best wishes.
149 week(s) ago
Hey, well done on the post man Kushal. You really deserve to win this one. =D
149 week(s) ago
Your write up was just mind-blowing. Kept me interested throughout the read. Wishing you all the best. I really hope you win.
149 week(s) ago
Your writing style is just brilliant. Good luck with the contest. I hope you'll win. I wish I could write in such a captivating way.
149 week(s) ago
Great articles! It's a pleasure to read them. You deserve to win the contest. Good luck!
149 week(s) ago
voted!!
please also vote for me
www.royalchallengers.com/cricket-online-contests/ffc3/Roy19
149 week(s) ago
Its really nice yar.... the way u re writing...continue and win the contest....
149 week(s) ago
It's well written article by the true RCB fan. I wish I could write like you....
149 week(s) ago
I have voted you I will be paid for this. I wish you won the contest
149 week(s) ago
You buddy what a presenting skill you had in building article, i appreciate your skills lol, dont worry you gonna be winner soon. best of luck in this contest, you are a top contender
149 week(s) ago
Kushal sheth you had a good skill of writing, i love the type your framing of words
149 week(s) ago
d way u write has some extra ordinary affinity for readers...which cn even turn any1 frm non-RCB fan to RCB fan...keep it up!
149 week(s) ago
I like your way of writing .Its innovative and expresses the true feeling of being a RCB fan
149 week(s) ago
I'm much impressed with your writing. It is a well organised way of writing.
149 week(s) ago
Well Written, this is very interesting, I like the way you are writing.
149 week(s) ago
That was an amazing write up. Looking forward to watching you blog for RCB from South Africa ;)
Waka Waka! :D
149 week(s) ago
I have known Kushal ever since my childhood and you can be rest assured that writing and cricket are the two biggest things he is passionate about! =D
Best of luck!
149 week(s) ago
Passionate about cricket. When I read the articles I felt I was there. Excellent writing skills. Wish I had these :)
149 week(s) ago
Kushal your style of presenting article is awesome dude, what a piece of elobration, i admire your writing skill and try to develop my own with referring and keen study of your art of writing.Good to read an very informative article from a professional :0
149 week(s) ago
Excellent and well written article.I like the way the the details are written.
149 week(s) ago
You are the one who is deserved to win. Very interesting article. Hope u win!
149 week(s) ago
i like whatever you writer it shows your great ability, regarding how to explain the things
149 week(s) ago
Kushal Sheth's combined passions for cricket and writing make him an excellent candidate for RCB's chief blogger. He is a profilic and highly skilled writer with an enviable knowledge of all things cricket. He gets my vote and reference.
149 week(s) ago
Pls vote for me
Chief Photographer Post
http://www.royalchallengers.com/cricket-online-contests/ffc3/mandardewalkar
Best Luck.
149 week(s) ago
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