I was having so much fun doing this series, that I wanted to share the fun, and get more people to join the party! :)
I have never written a guest post before.
Ever. I feel privileged to be asked to write in another person’s website. And
it is on a topic I adore. Birthdays. Well who doesn’t love Birthdays? Over the
years, I have tried to make myself aloof on my birthday, to just go somewhere
alone and reflect. This reflecting thing never worked for me. I found myself in
the company of my friends every single birthday.
My birthday falls on the14th of April,
which also happens to be Tamil New Year. So every year my birthday is a
government holiday and a reason for everybody in Tamil Nadu to celebrate it as
well. But on 2014, my 28th birthday, it was a little more special.
Anybody who follows cricket would know about IPL (Indian Premier League) and if
they know about IPL, they should know about Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the club
cricket team of my state and city. I am a diehard fan of CSK. Given the
reputation of Captain Dhoni, CSK’s matches are mostly be scheduled on holidays
to ensure maximum turn out at the stadium. Whenever there was a match on April
14th , I cancelled all the plans with my friends and I cut the cake
at home with one eye on the cake and the other fixed on the television to see
the magic unfold as CSK played.
My friends let out a collective sigh of
relief when the 2014 IPL calendar came out. CSK vs RCB game was scheduled on 13th
April. I was also happy that I could spend my birthday with my friends. It was
a Sunday evening; as usual we had brought in bottles of Cola and Chips and settled
before the television set. The match was between the so called arch rivals.
Royal Challengers Bangalore had some great batsmen in their line up. Though
Chris Morris removed the dangerous man Gayle early in the innings, Kohli and AB
Devillers notched up enviable half centuries to take RCB to a decent total of
165 runs.
At 9:30 pm CSK started batting. We lost
both our openers within four overs. It hurt particularly to see Mike Hussey
back in the den as he was always at his best when it comes to Bangalore. CSK as
a team always peaked at the end of the tournament. Though we were ready for a
loss, it bothered me that the 12 O clock celebration was not going to be the
same that year. Soon our local guy Badrinath joined Raina forming a pretty
decent partnership. At the end of tenth over, CSK were 64 for two, almost
needing 10 runs per over for the remaining 10 overs. When Raina got out to a
short ball in the next over, in walked Dhoni. Jadeja shortly joined him.
By 11:30 pm, my mobile started ringing,
because a lot of people wanted to wish me first and most of them were ready to
stay on the line for half an hour to do so. The match had just gathered full
momentum and I was not able to give my attention to both. One friend was hell
bent on being on line and the match had reached its penultimate over. Dhoni
decided to go big and got out. I was disappointed. He was the only hope we had
and I couldn’t keep it out of my voice. My friend said “I will leave you alone
for a while Brags. Call me when you are free.” That was the time the whole
world was making fun of Jadeja, calling him Sir Jadeja and what not. The last
over needed 16 runs for the win. With a six and four in consecutive deliveries,
Jadeja brought down the equation to a gettable 6 from four balls. However, some
decent bowling restricted him and the last ball needed two runs to win.
Jadeja had different ideas. He tried to cut
an uppish ball, straight to the fielder in third man. The moment the bat hit
the ball, Jadeja was off like a flash and but completed only one run. We, the
audience slumped in confused. The RCB camp was celebrating and that’s when
everybody noticed the umpire who had his hand stretched horizontally, meaning
it was NO Ball, adding another run to CSK! CSK had won the match! It was one of
the most ultimately thrilling finishes by CSK and the celebrations started
exactly at midnight. I called my friend with such excitement only to get an
earful about how CSK was important than her call. But, what a way to start a
birthday!
You can watch the highlights HERE.
The whole of Chennai celebrated my birthday
with pomp and celebration in 2014. Much like the match, my 28th year
was a roller coaster ride, from losing a job to finding a job again and going on
to lead a BPO on my own.
Well how did you celebrate your 28th?
I never knew this! Always nice to be a part
of someone’s life a little bit by reading about it.
Thank you Brags for sharing such a fun
memory!
Bragadeesh Prasanna
lives a young adult’s dream. He’s an author/ entrepreneur. A social media
marketer by profession, Added to which,
he is a voracious reader, and is a part of various clubs and groups. He is an
active member of the community, and still makes time for all his friends.
His book “300 Days” published about a year
ago is a hauntingly beautiful novel. [Available HERE]
You can follow him through: Blog (http://bragadeeshprasanna.com/) / Instagram (mrniceguy467 )
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