Heartbreak in Osaka, party palaces in Dhaka

I watched 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. I couldn't get access to a proper stream online given the load of users logged in and the commonwealth population in Eastern Europe being rather low. Thankfully, a good samaritan in the form of a Mexican Cafe owner streamed the India-Pakistan semi-final on a big screen. We had a reasonable mix of people from both countries present and I couldn't help but punch the air when Sachin's lbw of Ajmal was reversed by HawkEye. And yes, handshakes were exchanged at sub-zero temperatures when Pakistan were bowled out.

One thing every 90's-born cricket-mad kid remembers is the echoes of "Indiaaa… Indiaaa" off the television sets. All the more vividly when they met Pakistan at the SCG in 1992 and I kept thinking "I want to be there next time."

The years flew by. I grew from a college brat to a corporate brat in the UAE, all the while never forgetting my dream and finally I won a ticket to watch the final in 2011. But I had to tend to a last-minute family emergency.

Time flew by again, but when the 2015 tickets were announced and I saw a fixture between India and Pakistan, I booked the tickets without thinking twice. It's been a 23-year dream and now I realise that in a few short days, I will be there.

Watched the 2011 tournament in Baghdad on a 60' screen. I had to get my satellite from a shady website since we were not allowed to go to the main market. To my surprise, it actually came through and the only sports channel it received was the one I wanted. It was well worth the risk though when the guards who were also watching the semi-final looked baffled to see me getting wildly animated over Sachin's lbw overturn. Great memories.

I spent the 2007 World Cup in a small apartment in Osaka, Japan, staying up until the wee hours abusing the refresh button on my phone and swearing at disappointing New Zealand performances in the knockouts. At least I got used to having my heart broken, considering I had to watch New Zealand go down to Sri Lanka, again, in Wellington in 2011.

I was in my second year of engineering college in 2011 and our class was attending a practical examination when India met defending Champions Austrlaia in the quarter-final. Luckily, it was in a computer lab and me and my friends had hacked the admin password and to watch live streaming on the one of the PCs.

Despite tempting the lab assistant and the professor to watch the game with us, we were asked to push off after the first innings and tore down the stairs to get home before the match resumed. But judging from a mob that had gathered around the canteen, we realised we were too late. So we just joined in and enjoyed the entire match in canteen right up until everyone's favourite Yuvi got the Man of the Match.

I was in Bangkok about four years ago, and having just stepped off a long flight and checked into my hotel room, I pulled out the laptop to check on how Canada were doing.

I wasn't expecting much. We were coming off an embarrassing 175-run defeat to Zimbabwe and were playing Pakistan. Then the scorecard appears and I couldn't believe it: Pakistan all out for 184!? We could do this!

The chase began well, our run rate was lower than what was required but we had Rizwan Cheema, who could boost it if he gets in. My excitement was contagious and my wife, who is not a big cricket fan, also began following what I hoped would be our biggest World Cup victory since we beat Bangladesh in 2003.

The hundred comes up for Canada, only 85 more needed in slightly more than 17 overs with seven wickets in hand. Including Cheema.

Then we got Afridi'd. He took three wickets in successive overs, including Cheema's, and Canada get bowled out for 138.

It was still a great performance, and we carried on beat Kenya three days later as my wife and I were boarding the plane for home.

It was Friday. March 11, 2011. I was hanging out with my friends, playing cards and having reckless fun and almost forgot there was a match. Bangladesh v England, and only when we heard a torrent of noise coming from our campus at Dhaka University that we realised what we were missing.

We scrambled away immediately to the giant screens that had been set up on and when we joined Bangladesh had already have lost six wickets while chasing a 226. But we had not lost hope yet. At least not until Bangladesh lost their eighth wicket on 168. Thankfully, Shafiul Islam and Mahmudullah had other ideas.

They knocked off the remaining runs in an unbeaten partnership of 58 runs off 56 balls and turned the campus into a party palace. I would never ever forget that stunning two-wicket victory and Safiul's best innings as a batsman.