It was a Sunday night, I wanted to sleep early because I had school the next day but my father had other plans. He didn’t let me sleep instead made me sit on his lap and watch TV.
My mother asked him,
Would you let him sleep now, it’s getting late. He has school tomorrow you know?
He replied smiling,
History is being created. We are actually winning this. We are winning a Cricket World cup. Let this memory be with him forever.
That was the night and the best memory that I’ll always cherish. I witnessed Arjuna Ranatunga playing that shot in between Shane Warne‘s hands, Aravinda de Silva raising his bat after getting to his 100 and the magical finish by the skipper himself. Still remember how our guys were running to the middle of the ground, how Pakistani supporters were cheering us and the moment Captain Cool collected the beautiful Wills trophy from late premier Benazir Bhutto.
March 17th 1996 – The red letter day of Sri Lanka Cricket
The next day at school it was all about the World Cup win. I was only six and was in Grade 1 but all of my friends were talking about it.
Everyone had their favorite player. Apart from the Cap and Vice, Sana-Kalu, Murali, Vaas, Gura, Mahanama all had their own fans. It took us few days to get back to normal but started playing cricket during the interval with paper balls and cardboard bats in interval instead of hide and seek or hora-police.
Fell in love with the game ever since, and followed it like a mad man because cricket is not just a game but a religion. In modern words, cricket is bae, the game I fell in love with.
This blog will take you through my journey of cricket as a fan.
Image credits: Original uploaders
Cricket Tweep 