Moreover, the host had assembled leaders and corporate magnates to the ground many of whom did not even know how to bowl and hold the bat. But the enthusiasm with which most of the participants made their foray into the unfamiliar arena was praiseworthy.
Smiling faces around the cricket ground greeted the players as they entered the ground. The viewers were excited to see the well known political figures in a sports outfit -- something different from the usual ´daura suruwal ´ or rather suit in the recent days -- as they looked young and dynamic. The most interesting aspect of the match was that the under-arm, throw and dead bowling were all allowed.
Meanwhile, the cricket match grabbed the attention of the audience with two golden ducks and equal number of ducks for the political team. The seven member political team batting first scored a total of 18 runs in four overs out of which they got 13 runs for wide and two runs for bye. They were only able to score three runs of their bat.
The audience roared with cheers as BH Dhakal and Binay Raj Pandey who were included in the political team were bowled out golden duck while CPN (UML) Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and CPN (Maoist) leader Post Bahadur Bogati had to leave the ground without scoring any run. Nepali Congress Parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel showed a comparatively better performance with one run but was stumped out on the third ball. The highest scorer for the team was Balaram Pathak with two runs.
The political team started their fielding with Jhalanath Khanal´s comic under-arm bowling. Kailash Sirohia was able to score few runs but Greesh Bindra of the corporate could not withstand Khanal´s under-arm bowling and suffered a golden duck.
The corporate house with terrible record for wide bowling proved their mettle with batting of Kush Kumar Joshi. The highest scorer Joshi made six runs in two balls. Although the ball didn´t cross the boundary, Joshi was able to make four runs because the political leaders couldn´t run after the ball fast enough.
Besides Joshi, other batsmen made few runs but the ball usually stopped rolling at the middle of the field. Poudel and Bogoti delighted the audience with throw balls and dead balls that went straight to the target but were somehow blocked by batsmen. The political team despite poor batting showed better performance in bowling with only six wide balls compared to 13 wide balls of the corporate team.
The corporate team won the match scoring 19 runs for two wickets. They were able to meet the target in three overs. After the match was over, Jhala Nath Khanal said they made some mistakes despite their coordination. “This happens in politics as well,” he added. Meanwhile, Ram Chandra Poudel said, “Like the cooperation in the field we are near consensus in politics.”
The smiling faces of the politicians and corporate veterans were worth remembering as they explored out of their comfort zone and made mistakes.
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