Last winter I witnessed an interesting cricket match between Bombay XI and the Services XI played at the famous Ferozshah Kotla Grounds in Delhi. It was the final match in the Ranji Trophy Cricket lasting for three days.
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The match was to start at 10.00A.M. The skipper of the Services XI won the toss and chose to bat. The Skipper of the Bombay XI arranged the field. The opening batsman of the Services XI now took the strike. They played steady cricket for some time but soon one of the batsmen grew impatient at the low score and began to strike hard. The score board recorded a rise. There were cheers. Soon, however., he was caught out. The score was forty for the loss of one wicket. The next batsman did not fare well at all and was declared L.B.W. in the first over.
Now batsmen came one after another. They were bowled out. The Services XI could score only 170 runs in their first innings. Now was the turn of the Bombay XI. Their opening batsmen were young cricketers. They did not hesitate in taking risks. The score began to mount. The bowlers could not make any impression on them. The batsmen went on batting steadily. Unfortunately, one of the pair was bowled out when his individual score stood at 80,. The second one, however, stuck on and soon reached the score of hundred.
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The whole playground resounded with cheers. The other batsmen batted well and made a huge total of 450 runs. The Services XI came out to bat once again. They did not fare better even this time. They were all dismissed for 130 runs. Bombay XI won the match by an innings and 150 runs. The Bombay XI was therefore awarded me Trophy. It was a thrilling match indeed and held the spectators spell-bound. Some of the players played good cricket and drew loud cheers from the crowed.