It was a day everyone at SIS was looking forward to; young and old, boys and girls, all raring to get active in a sport that a nation of 1 billion love. The last thought on everyone's mind was a washout in the morning, but a tropical storm like down pour drowned the pitch, leaving very little to salvage for rest of the day. Word spread quickly to others yet to arrive advising possible cancellation of the event. The rain clouds, however, soon cleared leaving pools of water & mud everywhere, but spirits seemed undampened as one after the other, people arrived in the hopes of celebrating, if the not the game, the spirit of SIS!

It was eventually noon when the first T20 kicked off and for all who had prepared for the worst, a sigh of relief in that the cricket ball was abandoned in favour of the softer, lighter tennis ball Aditya Vijay XI against Aditya Shekar XI it was, at least we think it was for at one stage we lost track of the number of people in the game. It was clear that pace was not the choice of bowling under the circumstances and hence required the mastery of a slow bowler – Srini Balaji. Never in the history of cricket has one seen a ball travel from one crease to another so slow, it seemed like tea break someone said. The strategy seemed to work though, with the batting side hardly scoring off Srini Balaji. A steady partnership and a meagrely 3 runs per over saw Aditya Vijay XI reach 60 in their allotted 20 overs. The rain clouds threatened to play ruin once again but the heavens seemed kind enough this time, with just a drizzle to wash the sweat away. A quick lunch break helped recharge batteries; although not sure which had a profound effect – lunch or lager?. Aditya Shekar XI looked comfortable at start but some quick wickets and retirements made even the meagre target an impossibility. The team came home with balls to spare. It is fair to say that everyone had a hand in the victory never before had one seen spectators bat for a side.

With time to spare and weather improving by the hour, another 15 overs a side game was played. Muscles had already warmed up (or worn down depending on whom you asked) and it was set to be an exciting game. Ram Nagaraj XI opted to bat, winning the toss, and made a blistering start. Quick fires from Karthik Raghavan, Sathish Duraisamy and all saw the team post 58 in their 15 overs. Aditya Shekar XI came into bat with quiet optimism, only to see their team lose quick wickets within 30 runs. A late resurgence from Kaushik Ramanathan was in vain as the team lost their last wicket (actually, they lost this wicket 3 times) at 46 handing victory to Ram Nagaraj XI.

A wonderful day of mixed emotions, fun and a sense of oneness is how the day could be described. The slip and fall by Vijay Srinivasan, midfield negotiations by Srini Balaji to restrict opponents to 1 run where there were 2, All Ramas play gestures from Nagarajan Subramanian whenever the ball flew past him were all lighter moments that added life to a day that was already entertaining. Not the least, admirable umpiring from Sr. Subramanian added to an already interesting (read as amusing!) game of cricket. If people thought IPL or even Formula 1 featured glamorous cheer leaders/pit girls, SIS cricket did not lack this either. For all who thought pretty girls cant play cricket, this event was a shocker. Age-no-bound or sex-no-bound was truly demonstrated in this event.

Thanks to the organising committee for the concept and arrangement and hopefully we will have plenty more events like this in the future. Thanks to all who managed to make it to the event, despite adverse weather and make this event a huge success.