Pink Panther Vs Mighty Tiger

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