Mumbai adores Cricket Mumbai aka Bombay has a strong association with Cricket. The city has produced many cricketing greats, with the Double S: Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar creating Tsunamis not only in India but also across the globe. Whats more, they have made a mark in other areas too- lending their big names. Kudos to Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajit Wadekar, Polly Umrigar, Ravi Shastri, Eknath Solkar, and the many others from Mumbai who have made cricket what it is today. The classic Brabourne Stadium, later the Wankhede Stadium and more recently the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai have established the fact that Cricket is indeed on a firm Wicket in this City. Other than these hallmark stadiums there are numerous unofficial venues where cricket is played by the countless enthusiasts who never fail to dream of aping their cricketing heroes. In fact like the rest of India, cricket has assumed the status of a religion in Mumbai. One can never overlook the humungous Shivaji Park- a huge ground near the renowned Dadar locality where hundreds and even thousands get together forming their own teams and play their favourite sport, cricket. And yes, the legendary Oval and Azad Maidans where several people get into revelry mode showcasing their cricketing talents, are also venues to reckon with. The city warmly welcomes national as well as international cricketers whenever they come to Mumbai to play this breathtaking sport. Furthermore, the city and its people effortlessly adapt to the various forms of this game, whether its the age-old Test Match, the One Day International (ODI), or the in vogue Twenty-Twenty (T20) format. In line with T20, like other well-known Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, Mumbai too has its own team; Mumbai Indians owned and controlled by none other than business tycoon Mr Mukesh Ambani and his associates. Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar is the Skipper of Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians narrowly missed winning the IPL Trophy this year. Even politicians make it a point to associate themselves with cricket so much so that Mr Sharad Pawar (renowned politician heading the Nationalist Congress Party), plays a key role- not only in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but also the International Cricket Council (ICC). The common man, the politician, the film star, the rich and the famous, etcetera etcetera, all have their stake in this exciting game of cricket. And how can one miss Gully Cricket or cricket played in the narrow lanes of this diversely rich City. Mumbai is unquestionably mad about cricket. And RCB Fans in Mumbai? Of course, so many!

Close encounter Ever passionate about cricket, recently I witnessed a nail biting cricket match, la T20 format. Catchy and snazzy team names is not only limited to IPL or nations which have their many T20 teams. In a huge school ground in suburban Mumbai, 6 teams, played mind-blowing cricket and almost every clash between them, right from the round robin stage to the finals was an overwhelming one. Coming back to the catchy team names, the 6 teams: Roaring Scoring Rhinos, Bombarding Bombers, Mighty Marauders, Bunsen Burners, Googly Gazunders and Hat-trick Hoodoos, proved that they are no less when it comes to creativity. Because of my tight work schedules I could not watch all the encounters, though I made it a point to be a part of the teeming crowds in the final encounter: Bunsen Burners versus Googly Gazunders. Bunsen Burners won the toss and elected to bat. The very first ball was dispatched over the Ropes for a magnificent Six and it took the field personnel quite some time to locate the ball. True to their name, the Googly Gazunders bowlers turned the ball pretty well and ensured that they do not get hit very often to the ropes. However Dinesh Halbar, who dispatched the first ball of the match for a six, saw to it that the Bunsen Burners had a mammoth total to bank upon. Finally in the 10th over, Halbar succumbed to a Doosra and was out on Devils Number, 87. Immediately in the next over opener Virender Pathak lost his wicket to a Short pitch delivery by Robin Jaykumar; Pathak gifted a Dolly to Mohammed Khan, the most agile fielder of Googly Gazunders. Straightaway after the first two wickets, Googly Gazunders resorted to Negative bowling for which they were heavily penalized. In fact their 5 No balls resulted in devouring Free-hits for 3 Bunsen Burners hitters. In spite of the ups & downs the Bunsen Burners managed to score a fighting Double Nelson: 222 runs! Googly Gazunders had to get 223 to win the coveted Suburban Cup, which is a very challenging total. I was supporting the Bunsen Burners, not because they batted ruthlessly and superbly; I was supporting them from the very beginning. Ajit Prakash, Bunsen Burners ace bowler kicked off the proceedings with an Off-cutter. From the first ball I could sense a spirit of negativity and awkwardness among the Googly Gazunders openers. The 3rd over turned into a raging controversy when the Umpire gave the benefit of doubt to Srinath Akash, judging the Googly Gazunders batsman out Leg before wicket (LBW). Many from the crowd plus the entire Googly Gazunders team was shell-shocked to see Yusuf Ahmed (forced) to walk back to the Pavilion after been allegedly wrongly judged LBW by Umpire Venkat Ranga. Unfortunately everyone witnessed an ugly scene when Yusuf and Srinath were involved in a war of words; the Umpire had to intervene before the situation got out of control. Without delay, Yuvraj Jaiswal came to the pitch and Paddle-scooped the first ball he faced to the boundary for Four. For the next 10 overs All-rounder Kapil Somar gave solid support to Googly Gazunders Captain Yuvraj Jaiswal, scoring most of the runs from the Meat of his Kookaburra bat. Alas, the party got over for the Googly Gazunders as both Yuvraj and Kapil got out in quick succession- Kapil was Clean-bowled whereas Yuvraj got out to a Skier. Later, Dot balls, Marillier shots, Slog shots, and Overthrows ruled the roost in most of the overs, sealing the fate for the Googly Gazunders, who were All out after scoring 198 runs. Two Googly Gazunders Tail-enders were Duck-out, adding insult to injury. Dinesh Halbar, Bunsen Burners, was adjudged Man of the match for his breezy 87 plus three incredible catches. Overall, the match was a treat, spiced with a variety of elements, not to discount a good dose of batting, bowling and fielding.

Cricket they say is a funny game, but RCB makes it a point to make it full of fun on the run, all the more when its all done under the South African sun. Loyalty pays, undoubtedly if one is a part of the RCB league where it only gets bigger by the day and all you end up making is hay, many a times your way, that is what many of the RCBians cheerfully say. With humble beginnings the RCB Fan Club is now a force to reckon with, with a fan base threatening fan clubs across the globe- not only in terms of numbers but ardent support too. I hail from Bombay, belong to Mumbai but my heart is in Bengaluru- the base of RCB. My loyalty and love for RCB was rewarded from the first go- when I joined the Club and was selected as one of the top 9 bloggers for FFC2. I was rewarded for the second time as well- was among the select few to be a part of the foremost RCB Fan Summit in Bengaluru. RCB not only gave me a chance to get close to my favourite T20 team aka Royal Challengers and Bengaluru city itself, but also the treasure trove of RCBians who also love cricket and RCB. And what can I say about South Africa, the once apartheid stricken country, is splendid, colourful, diverse, beautiful, awe-inspiring, magical and a dream destination for many- truly it is a rainbow nation as Archbishop Desmond Tutu mentioned. Renowned for Jostling Johannesburg, Captivating Cape Town, Promising Pretoria, Delirious Durban, Gorgeous Garden Route, Dominating Drakensberg, and the so many exotic locales, not forgetting the Big 5, South Africa has a lot to offer. And cricket, my favourite game is well represented by the many deserving energetic South African cricketers who have contributed immensely, not only for their country but for the game of cricket too- I can never forget Jacques Kallis, Jhonty Rhodes, Kepler Wessels, Allan Donald, Ali Bacher, Fanie de Villiers and Lance Klusener, some of my favourite South African players. In fact South Africa and its people warmly welcomed IPL 2 to South Africa and the country made the whole tournament look like the choicest of South African diamonds! IPL 2 also gave an opportunity to the many under-privileged children who benefited from the benevolent funds generated from this tournament. What do I do when I am not contesting for FFC, well; I follow and fancy the game of cricket, along with the movers & shakers of RCB. Also, I make it a point to watch live tennis matches, especially owing allegiance to the 4 Grand Slams, with vintage Wimbledon my favourite. In addition I love watching news channels, reading books and magazines on advertising, finance, health & fitness, and current affairs. More than all this I see a dream turning into reality: Nishit in the Cultural Melting Pot, South Africa, for the Champions League, blogging for Royal Challengers, courtesy RCB. The alphabet R is certainly ravishing: R for RCB, R for the Republic of South Africa, and R for the Rand- South African currency. My Blog Spot: http://nishit-doshi.blogspot.com/