It is Cricket; na it’s a sport; Sorry, it’s a religion!!

13th Feb, a Friday, was when we checked out of Surfers Paradise. We stopped at Surfers Sandbar for breakfast. It was not the regular American Breakfast. It had variety. It had taste. It was good. Next stop was Brisbane airport to make the next flight to Adelaide. By this time, we had all downloaded Virgin Australia Entertainment but we were still on 20-A, B, C and D. I didn’t need the entertainment app for a while as I chatted with Sardarji – Mr. Luthera from Auckland. It

was a very animated conversation and I did learn a lot about the history of Sikhs, and his life along with his move to Auckland. He was heading to Adelaide to attend a birthday party of a friend’s daughter. A 21-year old. Supposedly this is a very big event in Australia, with as many as 400 people attending. He was not heading Adelaide for the match. Surprise! Surprise!

I did see Jobs though. Watched only half of it. Made for a good movie. I had one more flight to finish the remaining.

As we landed in Adelaide, we headed again to Hertz. This is where we saw the cricket fever. Not up until now anywhere in Australia. So far we had wondered if the cricket world cup was in Australia or in India. The first glimpses of the cricket were here. In Adelaide. We were in our car shortly after and of course we had figured out how to fit in the bags more efficiently. This was the only place we had made an

Internet booking for a hotel. It was heritage villas by the river at the Levi Park Caravan Park. I was almost praying that the place should be good. It was. It was spectacular. Wooden flooring. High ceilings. Colonial feel to it. Almost like the Fernhills in Ooty. There was a kitchenette too along with a sit out. A very very nice room. By the river and some hope that we may see some crocodiles. We ultimately did not see any. As a consolation, I was reminded it is only crocodiles.
Before we checked into the hotel, we stopped by at Edinburgh Castle for a quick dinner. It was a nice British-style pub and restaurant. After dinner, we made a stop of at local convenience store to stock up for breakfast for the next four days. It was official. I was the driver and Vimal was the cook. Lucky for some – Friday the 13th! I learnt how to take right turns. It was a heart stopping moment when I made a mistake and got away with it. Talked to myself and ensured it won’t happen again.

The following morning, we planned to visit the Cleland Wildlife park. This was after we would pick up the match tickets at the Adelaide central railway station. As we drove past Chennai Palace, we reminded ourselves that we were not yet missing Indian food. We had picked up some Haldirams heat and eat in any case if we were. We didn’t stop and continued to ticket counter. We picked up the tickets and I broke into a gleeful smile. It was not a dream anymore. I was going to see Ind vs. Pak at the Adelaide oval.

We proceeded to the Wildlife park. It was a short 40-50 min drive. At the park, Kangaroos, Koalas and echidna greeted us. Even Tasmanian devils and snakes. No Crocodiles! As a consolation, I was reminded it is only crocodiles. Feeding the kangaroos by hand felt nice. They seemed friendly. We couldn’t hold a Koala that day. ‘Too hot for

holding a Koala’ the sign read. After this, we headed to the city center and enjoyed some fresh juice and coconut water. It was good in the hot sun. A bustling place but up until only 5pm. After that, all shut.
It was 14-Feb. It was valentine’s day. We had plans to watch ‘Fifty shades’. The question was where. We zeroed in on a drive-in which was a few miles from the hotel. Boy, these drive-ins still work very well out here. The innovation was that the audio was streamed on FM and we could simply tune it in our car. Having borrowed 4 chairs earlier from Peter at the hotel, we opened the boot, parked in the reverse, sat out and enjoyed the movie. Oh well!! Not quite enjoyed it. I didn’t. It was tending to terrible. It was only at the end of the movie after discussion did I realize that this was not the end. There would be two more parts to it!! Blech!!

Match day was here. 15-Feb. The day I had imagined and dreamed of

for so many nights was here. The excitement was in the air. I had shared a photo of the tickets online the previous night. It was an awesome feeling to know that finally we had two extra tickets for the match. Even the Levi Park was buzzing. With Indians and the tricolor. People had started leaving as early as 9am for the Adelaide Oval. The gates were to open only at noon, but people couldn’t wait. We got ready. And made our walk to the bus stand. Again, we met so many Indians. Spoke about where they had come in from. Some from Mumbai, some from Sydney. It was awesome.

Nothing unites India like a game against Pakistan.

As we arrived at the Adelaide railway station, we tried to figure out what direction to be walking in to get to the Adelaide Oval. It was easy. It was the direction where the sea of blue was moving in. It was

the direction where the maximum noise was coming in. We crossed the river and made way to the Fan Zone. Complete party. Bollywood music and DJ and all the news channels and all. Face painting. Games and food. What an atmosphere. It was electric. And this was outside the stadium. After enjoying the moment, we queued up to enter the stadium. We found our seats on the first tier. To the right 3 Pakistanis. In front, 4 of them and some Gujju brethren. Behind couple of knowledgeable Aussie fans who had adopted India for this match. This was it. Before the crowd starting rolling in, we took our snaps and selfies. And we settled down to watch the crowd build while the players practiced out in the middle. Right below our deck was the fan zone. To the right – Indians. To the left – Pakistanis. This is what I had wanted. To watch a match with Pakistanis and to have the rub of the green in our favour.

The match itself was splendid. Virat Kohli scoring a century. The crowd cheering every run. And Ashwin bowling 3 maidens. I had my fill. Niggling the Pakis. Making them wonder what such an inexperienced team was doing at the world cup. Wishing them “a happy 18th Birthday” to convey to Shahid Afridi. It was awesome. By the end of the first half, they had disappeared. Possibly into the Pakistani fan Zone. Arpita was confused at one stage when India was bowling. “Are you going to cheer every ball that Pakistan doesn’t score off?” she wondered. And I said emphatically – yes!!!

India ultimately won comfortably. Too easy. But the party nevertheless was not short and sweet. We were out on the streets opposite the Adelaide central railway station. Unprecedented scenes. Adelaide would possibly have not seen a party like this before. Loud desis. Music. Cheering. It was awesome. We managed to meet erstwhile Tendulkar fan – Sudhir. He has almost become a team India mascot. He was outside the Intercontinental hotel where the players were coming in. The Pakistani team bus came in first. Rather quietly. There was no one waiting to greet them. We didn’t stay long enough to meet the Indian team. Possibly if Mahika was along with us, we would have made the effort. To get her to meet Virat Kohli. It was a day worth every minute and every Rupee spent. Possibly more.

The first half of the following day was dedicated to cricket again. This time it was to Sir Don Bradman. Arpita was almost pleading when she said she doesn’t want to come. “I can’t take so much of cricket” and we laughed and agreed. Only the guys went into the Oval. We saw the player areas, the press boxes, the members area, the field, the old score board and took a round of the entire stadium. At the old score board we saw the sign board which read Misbah. Laid to rest after the match.

What was most appealing was that this was probably less than 12 hours after 41,000 fans had invaded the stadium but it seemed like there was no one there ever. Clean. Spick and span. And almost ready to host another game the same night!! And finally it was the Sir Don museum. A spellbinding moment. To see his gear, the way he practiced, original score sheets with his name and commentary on the radio in the background from the time when he was batting. It is a place to go to for any cricket lover. Bowing down to you Sir Don. Amazing to have been so close to your legacy.

We managed to pick up an India flag, couple of hats and a T shirt from lost and found. No one was coming back for this and we would put it to good use in a week’s time at Melbourne. We drove back to pick up the girls and head out to Barossa valley. Wine and cheese. Reminiscing the places we have visited – we have been to coffee

estates, tea gardens, and now it was vineyards. I bumped into yet another friend at a winery. This was a good meeting as well. Again after many years.

The valley was good. At the main town, the women continued to shop and I enjoyed my Hot Chocolate fudge and Ice cream. Nuriootpa, Angaston, Tanuda, all towns which were part of our route. Small towns with population of less than 5000. Representing the Aussie way. Relaxed. Blissful. As we drove past the Williamstown lake, we experienced kangaroos in the wild for the first time. One of them, rather large hoped right in front of our car. Slightly dangerous but very enjoyable at the end of it. It was like Arpita had wished this and it came true. She had wanted to see it right in front of the car and she did. We headed back to Adelaide. To prepare ourselves for our flight the next day.