Cricket is a very interesting game. It is also educative. The sense of discipline, team-spirit, fellow-feelings, and the spirit of sportsmanship make it really significant.
It is very interesting and absorbing thing to witness a cricket matches. Last winter I witnessed a cricket match at Barabati Stadium played between the Orissa team and the Andhra team. Before the match I had to purchase five tickets for my parents, my brother, sister and myself.
The counter for tickets which was opened two days before the match remained crowded throughout and to secure tickets was a very strenuous affair. However, I could secure five tickets, with the help of one of my friends and I witnessed the match on the appointed day.
The match began and the two teams met on the ground. There was a big gathering of onlookers who cheered the players in course of the play. A good bowling or a deft batting created a good deal of enthusiasm among the onlookers. There were very good cricketers in the team. The game of Ashok of Orissa was very interesting. He was a fine batsman and in thirty minutes he scored 80 runs after which he was unluckily out and Damodar took his place. Although Damodar are comer, he played well and his score was beyond our expectation. In 40 minutes he collected 63 runs and after that he hit two sixes. This time the onlookers did not remain idle.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
They almost stood up and cheered him. Before the lunch break he collected two more runs. Thus the Orissa team collected 263 runs for four wickets before the lunch break.
In the next innings the Orissa Players started bowling and the Andhra team batted. Sri T.V.N. Rao was the first batsman who was out before making any run. The play had a very dull moment in the beginning. But soon Sri Venketeswar came for batting. In the first fifteen minutes of his batting he, too, did not make any mark in the match. But the wind blew in his favour and he made 94 runs. He had hit five sixes.
Now the spectators had a very pleasant occasion. They forgot that they were witnessing a game of cricket. They stood up and clapped and cheered him for his batting, which was very interesting. He, too, was out and was replaced by Chandra Sekharan who made 103 runs before going out.
When the match came to an end, the spectators cheered the Andhra team which secured 321 runs for 7 wickets. The game was over and the players of both the teams congratulated Chandra Sekharan and cheered him. The players went to the pavilion and the spectators gradually dispersed. I came to home with my parents, brother and sister. The stage of the stadium was so crowded that it was difficult for us to come out. We could not find a rickshaw for home journey and so we had to walk the distance. It was a memorable experience for me.