Peace at last...

The past 2 months were gruelling for me. Ever since I emerged from a 5 day-not entirely unprecedented-holiday 2 weeks before the Pre-Annual examinations, I did not have time to breathe. Initially, I divided my time between making up for the missed portion and studying religiously for the forthcoming and very important Pre-Annual evaluation. The amount of mental stress created by that little(?) escapade added to the existing problems. Tempers flew here and there. The Pre-Annuals came and went and the Annuals were soon to follow, so you can imagine the kind of life I led from the end of January to the middle of March. I received my results a few days ago and while I was happy that I had passed grade 11 with some good results, I was surprised by the inexplicably good Chemistry marks that I had received. I had somewhat expected them to be on the lower side. My struggles with Chemistry are not new to people who take some time off to read my blog. Well, I am happy that I did well;there is no point in breaking my head over all that now. I am now a Grade XII student, sitting right on the last step of school life. One more year and I will be in college. Hard to imagine life outside the walls of a place meant for kids/adolescents aged between 3 and 17. College life will be an entirely different cup of tea.

 

Well, I guess we are digressing from the topic, so lets come back to the point. During the past 10 days, I tasted what life really is. No studies, just fun and cleaning up the place. A lot of trash has gone out of the house and more trash will follow during the course of the next 2 days. Due to practically wading in dust, I had a mild cold for a few days. All this cleaning up was not just badly required, but also necessitated by the fact that I will be vacating my house in a few days. So, a lot of stuff is being arranged in cartons. I will be beginning Grade XII in the other house. Of all the houses we have lived in in India, this has been the best house. I began watching cricket in my previous apartment, but it was here that I developed my interest. I can't imagine watching cricket in some other house. I had come to this house as a new member of the cricketing fraternity and will leave it as someone who has completed a good three years watching the game. This house has witnessed the crests and troughs of Indian Cricket;from the highs of the World Cup victory to the lows of the whitewashes in England and Australia and again back to the high of the 4-0 whitewash of Australia, it has witnessed everything.

 The cricket also has been good. For the first time in 2 years, I watched Test Cricket in peace. Ever since studies began to dictate things in my life, I haven't been able to watch cricket in peace. The last test that I watched in peace before the recent Mohali test match was the Capetown test between India and SA. I did not do anything; I just watched cricket. I had kept myself mentally free till the 26th of March, but unfortunately, the pitch at the Feroze Shah Kotla had other plans and determined the result of the last test between India and Australia within 3 days. So, to keep myself occupied, I followed the NZ vs England test at Auckland keenly. What a test match. Prior and the lower order wrenched England from the jaws of defeat. Things had got really tense post tea on the last day. There is something about Matt Prior and England getting saved from difficult situations. Whenever England is in trouble, Matt Prior is always there to save the day. Can't forget that amazing partnership that he had with Cook in Ahmedabad not too long ago that saved England from losing by an innings.

Just heard about that shocking incident involving Jesse Ryder. He is now in a critical condition in hospital and hopefully he gets through unharmed. 

 
That effectively brings about the close of this season of International cricket.

The IPL is next. The IPL and ICC events present the perfect opportunity for the rest of the world to wake up from their slumber and join us at the cricket. Last year, I was not sure whether I was going to watch the IPL or not because I was put off by the injuries during the tour of England. In the end, I ended up watching it and had no regrets because it had many last over, if not last ball finishes. This time, I am quite sure that I will be watching it. The season hasn't even begun and it is already making headlines for the wrong reasons..