Pink Panther Vs Mighty Tiger
Trust me, I am not essaying an episode from Animal Planet.
These are the names that ladies of A and B blocks have assigned to their respective
cricket teams. A friendly match was played this evening at the basketball
court. Where else? The seriousness of practice sessions of both sides at
different intervals lasting up to 11 in the evening, and the match this evening
per se belied the term “friendly’. It was no less than an Indo-Pak match.
The general opinion, ahead of the play, was that A block team,
Pink Panther, was strong. Sujata
led the team. They had in them some who had probably played with their siblings
in childhood - or had some such exposure. Ideally they should have named theirs
Roaring Lions, raring to go, to perform and to win. And that is exactly what
they did.
The B Block team, Mighty Tiger, a shade less, tried to make
it up with more vigorous practice sessions and strategies. The Mastermind? Of
course, Jaya Sanjay who was simply matchless in her own way. Thus, in essence
it was a battle of strength versus strategy.
The match was played with 10 overs each. Jaya, captain of
Mighty Tiger, won the toss and chose to field. They made a good beginning by
taking a few wickets before the Pink Panthers stabilized themselves and made 42
runs in the allotted overs. Udaya remained the top scorer with 11 runs.
Luck did not favour the Mighty Tiger (Or, am I denying
credit to Pink Panther?). Rashmi whom they sent out to open and on whom they were
betting their last pie, hit the ball over the net and got out. A few others
down the line followed suit in similar or other fashions. The team got out in
9.1 overs managing 25 runs, and conceded victory to Pink Panther – or, Pink
Panther won.
The highlights:
(1) Geeta, of Pink Panther bowling just two overs, took four
consecutive wickets (more than a hat-trick), conceding no runs whatsoever. A
commendable performance.
(2) Poonam Bajaj, of Mighty Tiger, was the top scorer with unbeaten
11 runs which included the only sixer of the match.
(3) Jaya, the captain of Mighty Tiger, took 5 wickets - the
highest number in the match.
Jagadish Shenoy, our President, acted as the umpire. He also
formulated in advance rules suiting the basketball court where the match was played.
For example if the ‘batswoman’ hits above the net she is out. If she hits the
net in front without the ball touching the ground, it is a six; otherwise it is
a four. There were a host of other stipulations. We got a grip of them minutes before
the match ended. Sanjay and Rajesh Jain acted as leg umpires for one session
each. Two young boys maintained the scorecard.
I personally guessed the gathering would consist of just the
players, their 22 spouses and their children. Far from it. There were many
others - to the extent that the moment one got up from the chair, there was someone
else to grab it.
The weather chose to be pleasant, and it was a rewarding
evening. The only setback we suffered was that in their undying enthusiasm not
to let any catch go unavailed, Udaya and Neo of Pink Panther attempted for one
together and bumped into each other’s heads. Udaya sustained a cut that needed
six stitches. Neo escaped with swelling on her forehead. We wish them speedy recovery.
V.V. Sundaram
B-703
14 Dec 2014
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