It's not just a game, it's a religion.!

That's right!! Cricket is not just a game, it’s a religion in our country. I grew up watching and playing cricket. Those were the days when television did not had enough privileges to make the game look even colorful. My father introduced me to this wonderful game when I was a kid. He taught me the rules and ethics of the game. My neighborhood was filled with passionate cricket lovers. Soon after school, we used to jump into streets with stumps, bats making loud noise.

World cup matches were interesting and if it’s between India and Pakistan things would be nail biting. Cricket haters too would stick to their seat to experience this madness. The first world cup match I saw was India vs Pakistan in the year 1992. My father woke me up at 5 in the morning, said this is one of the important match for us. So was it, fight between Kiran More and Javed miandad, and that thrilling victory recorded in my memory.

Back then, cable connections was not reachable to every home and mine was not an exception. I had to go to my granny’s place to watch cricket. I bunked my school by giving lame reasons whenever there were finest Indian matches. I could not resist. My father also would come home early from his work to witness the action.

In 1996, India hosted the Wills World cup. Bangalore hosted an evergreen competition, between Indian and Pakistan. The ground was heavily crowded. It was a crucial quarterfinal match. We ought to win, because it’s against Pakistan. Indian batsmen gave a strong score to our opponents. I stuck to my chair at my granny’s praying some miracle would happen. And yes..! The world witnessed an unbeatable sledging between Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad. Our bowler kept his cool and bowled out arrogant opponent brilliantly. We were thrilled for more than one reason, it was not just a victory against one team. It was a victory against every individual who taunted us when we lost league matches.

An outstanding game of cricket was played at Sharjah between India and Australia at Sharjah where Little Master thrashed Aussies like anything to achieve an unbelievable victory. People came out of their houses to celebrate in grand style. It was something patriotic for all of us..!

I remember how I sneak out of my room, muted the TV and watched Yuvraj singh hit 6 sixers in 6 balls..! It was something special, proud and historic moment for Indians.

I was one of them who grew up watching many of these inspirational matches. This induced more about cricket inside me. I continue to practice cricket, but once in a week. When I look back I have played amazing game of cricket at my young age.

Things have changed now. I cannot sit and watch each and every ball like earlier days, thanks to my busy work and travel. As a hard-core cricket fan, I do not wish to miss any action. So with all the technology it’s still possible to enjoy the game of cricket. I use UC-Browser (http://www.ucweb.com/), and UC Cricket on my mobile for regular updates about ongoing matches. It is faster and has a space dedicated for every cricket fan, connecting them to the match wherever they are.