The unlikely origin story

While the whole country is celebrating the T-20 World Cup victory, from the jaws of defeat, I am slipping into nostalgia. During the mid- and late-seventies, while I was in high school and college in Dakshina Kannada district, we dedicated our evenings to playing tennis ball cricket. The game played with underarm bowling with friends also sometimes attracted the staff of Syndicate Bank to our school playground. My father had guided me to have a savings account in that bank, then itself.

In those days when there was no TV, a few of them would listen to the radio commentary and explain how cricketing legends G R Vishwanath, Gavaskar, and Brijesh Patel batted, how West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts bowled, and how B S Chandrasekhar delivered the googly.

Rain didn't deter us, and we played in the evenings even if there was a short respite from the downpour. We used to enjoy the black-and-white highlights of some test matches, which were beamed in the ‘news reel’ just before the main movie was played in the cinema halls. Even the movie advertisements in newspapers mentioned such high lights to garner 'eyeballs'.

Just like the present-day IPL auction, the captains of our teams too chose their players, taking their turns one after another. On Sundays, we used to have regular matches with teams from neighbouring places. One team would play until noon, and the other team would play after lunch. Isn't that how one-day matches were played in later years? We gradually moved on to each team playing 20 overs. I can proudly say that we invented the twenty-twenty concept some 45 years ago! A couple of times we played double-wicket tournaments as well, like the present-day super over in a tied match.

Once, when I was in high school, my elder brother was listening to radio commentary, and I jokingly said, "Gavaskar out."

When he actually got out the very next ball, my brother fought with me, saying, "He got out because you said so." Imagine my position, when the incident repeated. Of course, later, I became a big fan of the little master. Once, I had a dream that he hit a century in an overseas test match. I shared the same with my colleagues in the bank. Lo, he actually hit a century! Now my children don’t allow me to open my mouth, because most of the time, whatever I utter during the match becomes true.