I'm writing this just before going to my first IPL after party, after beating Kolkata Knight Riders.
I'm quite excited about that, especially after hearing some of the
stories of Bollywood glamour. The whole experience of playing against
Knight Ridres was awesome and Eden Gardens was fantastically loud.I can't believe I've already played five matches in the tournament. The
last 11 days have been a bit of a blur and everything has happened so
quickly. But let me take you back to the beginning, when I made my IPL debut against Kings XI Punjab.
My nerves took over when it was announced that I was in the starting XI.
I thought I'd play it cool going to the ground only to leave my kit at
the hotel. It was a very embarrassing but quite a funny moment.
Even though it was not a tense game and we won easily, afterwards, I
struggled to sleep with all the excitement. The next day we flew to
Chennai, which was a painfully long journey. The only thing that kept me
sane was sitting next to legend that is Michael Hussey. He has is an
absolutely down to earth person and I'd say that flight was up there
with one of the coolest couple of hours for me ever.
We had Royal Challengers Bangalore next and I couldn't wait to play in front of my home crowd.The guys weren't lying when they said it's hot here. It was the first
time in my life I've had to pack four playing shirts for any game. Getting Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Dan Christian out was crazy. When I
think about it, I guess I just got lucky on the day. It was a very
stressful match because we thought we'd lost and then realised there was
a no-ball, which was great for us. But the best part of that night was
the crowd. The sound is just amazing. You can't think let alone hear a
team-mate. And my Twitter followers went up by 4000 after that game.
After that, I experienced my first loss with the team, to Pune Warriors. It was very disappointing even though I was happy with my performance. I really struggled with the heat in that game. I used eight sweat bands and three shirts and by my third over, I felt like my lungs were going to burst. Getting Robin Uttappa and Ross Taylor helped a little, but it was a good thing there were ice bandanas and ice vests waiting for us as we came off.
I haven't really had a chance to get out of the hotels much because of all the travel days, but I did venture out in Delhi. The Nannes family took me a restaurant called Olive Beach, and Hussey and Ben Laughlin joined us. It was my first real taste of Indian food. I can't remember what the dish I had was called, but it was lamb wrapped in bacon and it was insanely good.
Dirk has decided to be my tour guide once his family leave and I am really looking forward to exploring more of Chennai with him. We will be at home for the next week or so before we go to Pune and then on to Mumbai. Hope to have lots to tell you by then.
After that, I experienced my first loss with the team, to Pune Warriors. It was very disappointing even though I was happy with my performance. I really struggled with the heat in that game. I used eight sweat bands and three shirts and by my third over, I felt like my lungs were going to burst. Getting Robin Uttappa and Ross Taylor helped a little, but it was a good thing there were ice bandanas and ice vests waiting for us as we came off.
I haven't really had a chance to get out of the hotels much because of all the travel days, but I did venture out in Delhi. The Nannes family took me a restaurant called Olive Beach, and Hussey and Ben Laughlin joined us. It was my first real taste of Indian food. I can't remember what the dish I had was called, but it was lamb wrapped in bacon and it was insanely good.
Dirk has decided to be my tour guide once his family leave and I am really looking forward to exploring more of Chennai with him. We will be at home for the next week or so before we go to Pune and then on to Mumbai. Hope to have lots to tell you by then.
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