Tour Diary: Chicken feta, forty winks and some lovely ladies

The players picked on some celebratory burgers and slept soundly on an off day even as the Mischief Gals raised the temperature with their live fan chat session on the RCB Website.

Bite and Binge

When I walked in early morning to ask for a chicken feta burger, the slightly amused expression suggesting "Another?" got me curious, and sure enough, I discovered that nineteen and a half burgers had been consumed by the winning team. One bite and it was easy to understand why.

At breakfast, Saurabh Bandekar tucked into some Spanish bacon and fresh watermelons while Rahul was probably being pampered by Vijeta at home. The chefs were heard inquiring at the concierge if he was staying at the hotel, as they hadn't received a single request from him thus far!

But all young cricketers seeking to land balls on neighbouring roofs should try egg whites, ham and cheese for breakfast. Seems to be working perfectly well for Robin.

Chitter Chatter Pitter Patter

I'd received a call the previous night asking me to facilitate a live chat between fans and the Mischief Gals. In preparation, insights from my research included: the Bring it on series should be watched only if you are 16 and illegally tipsy; the earliest cheerleaders were men for the University of Minnesota (Thank heavens for the change!); when a Mischief Gal wants to ride the wagon, give them a free rein.

Me and Anisha sat back and watched as Candice, Denise and Leigh teased and entertained the RCB loyalty on the website.

Football club affiliations were discussed, as were catchy team songs.  Candice professed her love for Liverpool and confessed that she thought the CSK team song was cool as well.

Leigh described how she was turning Indian, eating with hands and bobbing her head to both 'yes' and 'no'.

"Are you single" was the only question on most lips, and Denise chewed some gum, nodded naughtily at the screen, and purred, " I might be". Easily, the answer of the day. 

Chilling- RCB Style

As I waited for my Nasi Goreng to arrive after the Mischief Gals chat, I wondered what the players were up to on a cricket-free evening. A dipstick study revealed that Dale Steyn's DND status involved movie watching; Dillon Du Preez headed out for dinner with Evan Speechly and his wife; Manish Pandey flitted around in his flip-flops; Eoin Morgan, well, just slept;and Prasanna (team analyst) did what he religiously does. Watch and dissect every ball of the IPL.  

One time, Hugo Deep Red wafted through the corridor, indicating the presence of better halves.    

Coming up

The Delhi Daredevils, who looked a little glum when boarding the team bus for practise. Strange. Ran into Gautam Gambhir in the elevator and as I wished him a speedy recovery, he indicated that he might not play, but a sliver of a chance remained neverthless.

I hope he makes it. Ray Jennings had earlier made a point about the satisfaction of playing the best sides and beating them, and the DD game has been looked forward to.

Also met Dilshan, who resembles a bit of a hip-hop artist with his facial hair experiments. Can't wait to watch the scoop tomorrow. Go straight into short fine leg's hands for this one match, that is.