Fun In Practice Sessions
We are on the ground for practice session today. The team is playing a game of football today. We have Vinay,Dale, Rahul, Akhil, Roelof,Manish and Theo (Protection-man of the team) on one side while Robin, Virat, Kumble, Bishnoi, Ross, Bhuvaneshwar and Praveen on the other side.
Two days ago, the team practiced under the lights. For someone like me, who hadn’t played cricket beyond a mentionable level, it was quite a revealing experience.
I slipped twice on the dew while trying to escape the ball coming from the nets on the other side. The lights really pierce your eyes when you look up towards a ball being hit in air. Plus we have the attention-seeking insects. They keep sitting on your hands or love dancing in front of your eyes.
Then I walked behind the batsman when Dale and Vinay were bowling. I stood some 15 feet behind the stumps, safe in the knowledge that a net lies in between me and the ball. It was hard not to recoil and blink whenever any of the Steyn’s delivery escaped the bat and hit the net right in front of me.
After the practice session, we returned to the players-room. All players were glued to the Deccan chargers vs Trinidad match on Tv. The otherwise silent Rahul still screamed like a schoolboy on watching Pollard hit a flat six.
When Mohammed was hit by a bouncer, Dravid, Roelof and Dravid started discussing the hits they have received on their heads. Kumble recalled being hit badly on his chin once. “You aren’t a cricketer if you haven’t been knocked down even once” concluded Boucher.
On our way back to the hotel, Virat and Praveen took it upon themselves to teach some “colloquial” Hindi words to Ross & Ray which might come in handy while sledging on the field. The foreign players were already aware of the most common ones. I must say, Ross has admirable linguistic abilities. He was quick to pick the nuances of gender specific grammar in Hindi (e.g. “Jayegi for a girl and “Jayega” for a boy) and was soon hurling complete “meaningful” sentences. Praveen warned Ray and Ross not to use the newly taught skills in the hotel.
It was a laugh riot all the way. Siva had posted some of the photos during the ride in his posts. Thankfully, his camera captures only the images.
As of now, the football match is over. Yellow team (the one with Vinay and Rahul) defeated the Reds by 5 goals to 3. They have started another fun game now. I would dedicate another post to describe the games that they play in practice sessions. The latest game ends with Reds winning and Praveen receiving a high-five from Ross with a “Taali de bhai”.
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