I took eight months off from movies, it suddenly became 18 - Preity Zinta : Bollywood News

So how much does she know now? When I got into cricket, I only knew what fours and sixers were. Today, I know what a shorter ball, good length delivery or a yorker is. This I learnt on my own. On her own? When I got into the movies I didnt go to film school.

She continues. Its been incredible how far Ive managed to come on my own by just watching the game. I didnt think I would fall in love with cricket so much, she says and pauses, distracted by a Sachin Tendulkar boundary on the television.

The clock is ticking and its time for her to begin the process of looking glamorous, but Zinta cannot peel her eyes off the telly. He is a legend, she says, holding her breath. When the IPL began all I wanted as an owner was Tendulkar in my team. But they told me it was not possible.

Shes put in the hard yards for this role. Zinta went to Harvard to study the complexities behind a business... I studied negotiations, deal making, mergers, and acquisitions as part of a business course. I didnt do sports management, but I did present the IPL as one of my case studies. I think knowledge is the key and the course did help to some extent.

Harvard taught me to think big. But to think business in India, nobody can teach you. In India you got to think desi, things work differently, she says. The screws have turned since the beginning, but Zinta recalls the difficult times. What I felt intimidated about was that I was the only woman then (these days there are a few more), and the actress tag became a handicap. I felt I didnt have to be a glamour doll or pout and pose and do my make-up to be accepted.

Its 7 pm - late, already - and the pre-match entertainment has already begun. She might make it just in time for the game. The foyer is a circus trying to get autographs, sound bytes or just a photograph. She wades past the crowd through to the front into a waiting car, and the entire process moves without discomfort, throwing caution to both the delay and the wind.

Stress, and more stress, is always there before and after a game. Like the incident where Harbhajan Singh (of the Mumbai Indians) slapped Sreesanth (from her Kings XI Punjab). That got her a little twitchy, but nothing eradicated the sense of security in her newest profession. Even when something goes wrong, I smile and sign pieces of paper. A typical day in my life during the IPL is controversy management. In the middle of everything, the temple priest comes with prasad to give to the boys. If I can get to sneak to the gym after all this, it is great. Then I go to the stadium and can barely hear or see anything, like a horse with blinders on. I care too much. Come on, were Punjab, the most glamorous, aggressive and colourful team in this tournament, she says. Five minutes before the start, Zinta is on the ground and takes her place next to the players in the dug-out - her domain for the next three hours. Smiles erupt from her men in uniform - some coy, some star-struck, all of them comfortable. But whatever happens from here on, she knows its just a game.

Screen India

"I took eight months off from movies, it suddenly became 18" - Preity Zinta