Cricket Madness

It may as well have been a national holiday yesterday. Offices closed early, firecrackers were ready... all for the India-Pakistan World Cup match in cricket. At a meeting at Google's office today, one of first things people pointed out was the room where the World Cup was projected last night, to inaugurate the new wing.

To me, a single match that lasts from 2:30pm until 11pm is pretty nuts, but what do I know about cricket (Indians cringe that I still compare it to baseball). On my flight back from Jharkhand to Hyderabad, the pilot periodically makes announcements on the score. I'm shocked no one is responding, but by 10pm, all I hear sitting in my apartment are periodic bursts of loud shouts all around. By 11pm, an all-around frenzy has ensued, with literally thousands of firecrackers going off all around. I'm on the phone with Tyler, and Delhi seems even louder. For a bit, it makes the distance seem less, as the entire nation is fixated on this one moment.

And now, India plays Sri Lanka in the final. I can only imagine what victory might sound like then.