The Return of My Childhood - Thank You Dada

Here I am with my blog finally. It's been on my mind for a long time but I didn't really have any content to begin with. I was always certain that my first post should be about something that I love the most and it should be from the heart. The thing that I love the most in this world is my family and then there is someone whom I equally love the most. He is someone whom I always look upto for inspiration, determination and self confidence. Everyone in my family knows about the unmatched love and fondness I have for him. Everytime there is an update on him in the media, the first call or a message that I receive is either from my grandma or from my dad. They are the first ones to keep me updated on the happenings. I am so proud to be from a family that is so supportive of whatever I do. Just because I love him so much they take that extra effort to keep me well informed so that I will feel happy about it. 

I am sure all of you would have guessed by now as to whom I am talking about, Yes, indeed it is the one and only Sourav Ganguly. Nothing in life gives me more satisfaction and joy than getting to see him on the field. That is how it has been for the past few days. Elated and Overjoyed. 

It was in Mid October, the news of Dada playing this tournament was doing rounds. Even Dada wasn't sure because of Mr. Dalmiya's sudden demise. Fans were confused as to whether or not he will play. I was a bit disappointed, as this was the only chance we can see him play again. Hardly a week left for the tournament to begin and it was certain that he wont play. I was getting ready for office as always. It was on the 2nd of November around 7 in the night, I got a call from my twin brother Ashok asking me to switch on Headlines Today immediately and that there was a surprise waiting for me. I almost got out of the house while I was on a call, rushed back to see as to what it was. 

I just couldn't believe what I witnessed, Dada was all padded up in the nets and was in conversation with Mr.Boria Majumder talking about the preparations for the Cricket All Stars T20. I was over the moon, so happy. Yet again another one from my family broke the news. 

( A Pic that I captured on my mobile just to share the excitement with all my friends )

For the next few days all that I was looking forward was to see some pictures and watch videos of Dada at the nets. Like the good old days I got very excited looking at each and every one of them. For me Dada has the most passionate fanatics for any sportsperson in the country. I am sure many would echo my opinion. 

Dada is back!!Cricket All Stars #XtraTime
Posted by XtraTime on Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Dada left for US on the 9th for the 2nd and 3rd game. Even though Dada didn't play the first game fans were in full flow at Citifield, NY with Banners of Dada. Here are a few from the first game. 

( At Citifield, NY )

I always have this habit of taping all matches/videos of Dada and keeping it as an archive, right from his early cricket days to the current ones. I have over 50 GB of Dada videos in my archive now. I was eagerly looking forward to tape this as well. 

Houston - November 12 : The day finally arrived. It was a holiday for me. Normally I wake up around 7 in the morning during holidays. The nervousness before the start of the game began very early at 3am. I was awake and was lying on bed thinking as to how much will Dada score and will he be able to score well today considering the fact that he hasn't played in a very long time. The match was to start at 7.30am IST. I know for a fact that Dada had left for US on 9th but didn't see any pics of him joining the team. Lots of things were going on in my mind whether he will play today or will he sit out. To clear off all speculations that was going on in my mind VVS posted a Pic of Dada joining the Team and Viru had posted a Pic of Dada with his bat inside the dressing room. Woah, I was relieved. The Toss began and the players stood for the national anthem. That was the first sight of Dada on TV for the match. Couldn't restrain from screaming on seeing him. Sachin's team were bowling first. So the wait to see him bat continued. 

It was during the first over of the match that they showed him and the crowd went berserk on seeing him on the big screen. So did I. I may sound crazy but I ran closer to the TV to get a closer look at him. 

( Dada sees himself on the big screen. Reacts to crowd going berserk on seeing him )

If you ask my mom what I would choose between "Food when I am hungry" or "Watching Dada play". She will angrily accept that I would choose the latter. This is how I was that day. My grandfather who is also a huge cricket fan joined me to watch the match. It was the end of the first innings and I like any other cricket fan was hoping to see Dada open the innings with Sachin. Surprisingly Sehwag opened up with Sachin. Sehwag didn't add much to the total.  My TV set was chanting DADA, DADA, DADA......... and there came my Dadi.

(  GOOSEBUMPS Moment - Dada Walks in to Bat )

The GOOSEBUMPS feel was back yet again but this time it was along with sweat. Everytime Dada comes out to bat till he is there in the middle I sweat a lot because of nervousness. You could feel that if you touch my palm. My aunt tells me not to take it very seriously because I become nervous each time and that it is not good but this is something which is out of control. It comes automatically within. Normally when you see your idol come out to perform you will cheer out loud and will celebrate it. Its completely different for me. 

Dada was off the mark with a single and it was a huge sigh of relief for me. To be very honest I knew Dada hasn't played cricket in a long time and all I was hoping for was to see him play a cover drive and to smack one over the Bowlers head or to come down the track and clear the fence once. The moment of happiness came in the last ball of the 3rd over. 

3.6 - Kallis to Ganguly : SIX, clears the boundary comfortably. Full outside off, Ganguly times the pants off that and just uppishly drives that over mid-off for six.

I was like all over the place in the hall as if I took a wicket. How many time have we seen this shot time and over again. Too Good. Dada seemed to be in good touch and I was like Dadi, One more please.... Dada had a very short stay at the crease. He was dismissed for a run a ball 12. Even though I was a bit disappointed, that SIX off Kallis overshadowed all that. The video of Dada's SIX was all over Facebook and on Twitter and fans were rejoicing it. The fan support for Dada at Houston was no less to Sachin's. Here are a few pics that the fans shared with me and with my friends on Facebook. 

LA - November 15 :  The third and final match happened today and it was 8am start IST. When Dada plays I don't need any alarm to wake me up. The other day I woke up around 3 am and today I was a bit early, Yes I woke up at 2 am and all excited for today's game. Sachin had won the toss and decided to Bat first ( Yayyyyy !!! ). Looking at the team sheets it was clear that Dada would not open and would bat 2 down. All of us know how much chennai is flooded with rain for the past week or so. The rain gods came in the way of letting me watch my GOD play today. Rain made sure there was no signal in DTH and I had to search for a live streaming link to watch the match. After a lot of struggle found out a working link after 20 mins and there I was ready on time for the match. Sachin and Sehwag were in full flow and for a second I thought whether or not Dada will get a chance to even bat today. 


And there came the moment, Sehwag got out first and was followed by Sachin. 
Dada walked in to Bat and Sachin had a word or two say to Dada.

( That GOOSEBUMPS moment again )

And it started again, The nervousness and tension. I forgot to tell you all this. I have this superstition of sitting in the same posture. If I am sitting in a particular posture and if Dada scores the first 4 or a SIX, i will stick to that posture throughout the innings. It was very important for Dada not to lose his wicket because there wasn't much batting left after him. He started off consciously and the first big hit came when Symonds came on to bowl. 

11.4 - Symonds to Ganguly : SIX. Flighted on middle, Ganguly eases down the pitch and lofts it straight down the ground.

Are we in for a big one here ? - I asked myself but immediately decided not to think too much and to take it ball by ball. Dada wasn't taking much risks in the middle and wasn't going for shots understandably. Symonds came on to bowl again and this happened in his very next over.

13.1 Symonds to Ganguly, SIX, tossed up and outside off, Ganguly runs down the track like a charging elephant and thumps it over long-off. 


I was like OMG, Dada is in some mood today and is looking good. The fan boy inside me kept asking, a 50 Today Please ? I remained calm and it was the 17th over and I didn't get excited at Dada scoring back to back boundaries off Walsh either. Only three overs were left and he had already crossed the 30 run mark. I knew Dada had already played a memorable knock that we fans would cherish for a long time to come. It was the 19th over and Dada smacked Warne for a SIX over mid on and he moved into the 40's. By then the rain stopped and the DTH signal was back. 

It was the last over and Dada faced Vettori and he needed 8 runs to complete his 50. He had already hit 3 SIXES in the match and only one trademark shot was left. Coming down the track off a left arm spinner and clearing the rope on the leg side. First ball went for 2 runs and then a Boundary, then came the moment of JOY. The moment all of us were waiting for, YES -  Dada's 50. He scored 2 runs off the 3rd ball to complete his first 50 of the series. I stood up applauded and cheered Dada's fifty. Called up Mom and told her, Dada scored a 50. She was like, " Are you Happy now ? Have breakfast now atleast. "

Vintage Dada in Display 

In the meantime got a SMS from Grandma saying, " Congrats & Sorry " for Dada scoring a 50 and then getting out the next ball. 

Even though Dada got out the next ball it was Vintage Dada in display at LA. It turned out to be an awesome Sunday morning for all Dada fans. People went crazy all over on Facebook & Twitter. It was my turn to celebrate the same with friends. Called many of them and discussed it. That feeling of happily explaining friends about how well Dada played was pure bliss. Has to be one of the happiest days in recent times. 

Dad, Grandfather, Grandmother & Brother all called and congratulated me as if i scored a 50 today. The sight of getting to see Dada bowl was also satisfied today with him bowling just the one over. 

The Past week has to be one of the BEST days this year for me because it gave me immense satisfaction and joy to see Dada play and perform so well. I swear that the happiness I get from getting to see him play can never be equated with anything else in life for me. I take this blog as a forum to thank all the legends who took part in the tournament inspite of not having played cricket recently. They took lots of efforts just for fans. Thank you Sachin and Shane for such a wonderful initiative. Most importantly we were able to see Dada back in action because of that. Hopefully Dada plays next year too. 

With this I can very easily say I relived my childhood in the past 1 week and it was like all 90's all over again. It was a lovely experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Thank you Dada......Hoping to see you next year as well. 


With Loads of Love,
Arun Raghavan