CRICKET IN THE HAZE OF MY MEMORY. I can’t clearly recall the first match… | by Shagun | Sep, 2025

I can’t clearly recall the first match i saw. The scores are blurred, the players a haze. All I can remember are just some blur scenes, a lazy summer afternoon, a bunch of children playing in the living room, enthusiastic voices of my father and uncle, and a boy tugging at his sister’s sleeves forcing her to look at the glowing screen of television. The girl looks at the screen and hears the thud sound that the bat made when it met the ball, and the roar of the crowd that shook the cup at the tea stalls. A memory too hazy and old to recall, but now i can recall a clear memory of the same girl, looking at the same television screen, but this time with her fingers crossed and lips moving with prayers.

A crystal clear memory of 29th june 2024, the girl has stood up from her seat after the dreaded 15th over filled with Klassen’s sky touching sixes. Her fingers are locked her lips are constantly saying prayers, and then the players work their miracle sending her leaping in joy . Finally Hardik Pandya ran in for the final over, the pinnacle is finally achieved, and she is just jumping, screaming loudly, unable to contain the joy.
And I still can’t contain the joy and can’t not feel the thrill after watching the highlights of the same match for the nth time. My first memory of cricket is messy — A mix of summers, crowded living rooms and the loud screams of my brother. But this match and this memory is clear as glass and will forever be. The 2024 T20 World Cup Final has itched itself into my heart, but the passion and love runs deeper, hidden somewhere in the deep wells of my blurred memory.

Cricket began for me in the blurred summers, but it lives in me now with unforgettable clarity.