Howzat! Cricket in Dhoti-kurta, commentary in Sanskrit

VARANASI:

Commentary in Sanskrit

‘Ete krikidah chatrah dandchalanartham aagamishyanti’ (student is arriving at the batting crease). Ete chatrah kanduk kridanartham aagamishyanti (another comes out to bowl) ... Chaturthanka labdah (four runs scored) blare from loudspeakers on a playground at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU) campus. On approaching closer, one can see young lads clad in vibrant yellow and saffron ‘ganvesh’ (traditional Indian dhoti and kurta), scoring runs, fielding and hitting fours and sixes like other cricketers.

The spectators got a flavour of the novel form of cricket, when dhoti kurta-clad ‘batuk’ (Vedic students) and Sanskrit scholars arrived at the cricket pitch in the middle of the ground to begin batting and bowling after the customary ‘toss’. The running

commentary

was in Sanskrit.

A district level inter-collegiate cricket match for Sanskrit colleges, conceptualized by Shastrarth Mahavidyalaya affiliated to SSU, was organized on Friday to commemorate its 73rd foundation day observed on Basant Panchami. It is an annual feature here to tell the people that Sanskrit is not merely a literary but has much more in it. “With forthcoming elections at hand, we also appealed to the masses to use their right to vote during the commentary,” convenor of the tournament Pawan Kumar Shukla said.

Kashi Vidya Mandir Sanskrit Degree College (KVMSDC), International Chandramauli Charitable Trust (ICCT) and

Ranbir Sanskrit College

(RSC) besides Shastrarth Mahavidyalaya (SM) were shortlisted for semi-finals and finals. Former Ranji trophy player Dheeraj Mishra and state-level cricketer Sanjeev Tiwari were the umpires.

The first match was played between KVMSDC and ICCT with Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Brahmacharya as captains of respective teams. The former won the toss and chose to bat. It seemed a win-win situation for KVMSDC owing to presence of Acharya level (MA) scholars, yet ‘batuk’ of ICCT gave them a tough fight as they exercised their muscles to grab catches and take wickets in 10 overs.

By seventh over, KVMSDC had crossed a century mark by scoring runs effortlessly as the 11-12 year olds struggled to take a catch or run them out. But, the jinx was broken with arrival of bowler Harshit Mishra who took a crucial wicket of Sudhir Pyasi (40). ‘Pyasi bahirbhutah jatah (batsman Pyasi headed back to the pavilion)’, announced commentator Shesh Narayan Mishra. Despite it, KVMSDC scored 145-1 and defeated the opponent by 94 runs.

The next match was played between RSC and SM amidst loud cheers and applause. It was a closely contested match as RSC managed to inch closer to the target of 73 runs but lost their last wicket in the final over and could manage to score 72 runs.

The finals were played between KVMSDC and SM witnessing smashing fours and sixes despite the short-duration of 8-over. The former team set a target of 55 runs and after giving a tough fight, SM lost to KVMSDC by three wickets.

The winners will be rewarded on the culmination of five-day celebratory programme at Dashaswamedh on February 5.