Cricket

Remember those days in the colony when not every house had a TV but no one wanted to miss a cricket match? Friends, and sometimes even strangers, would gather at someone's house with a TV to watch the match progress. Everyone was opinionated, everyone knew best, everyone had a strategy, everyone ridiculed someone, some became supremely superstitious, no one agreed with the batting order or selection committee, everyone agreed with the umpire when the decision was in favor but some suspected a conspiracy and invariably blamed him for being 'partial' when an unfavorable decision was reached. By the end of the match, everyone sulked or rejoiced together. But no matter how it ended, a few strangers had now become friends - unified by cricket.