Bhopal: The gentlemen’s game has found its Sanskrit edition in the state capital. Dhoti-clad batsmen hitting ‘kandukas’ with their ‘pattas’ amid a Sanskrit commentary was a scene to admire at the Ankur Sports Complex on Sunday morning.
The players had ‘tilaks’ on their foreheads and rudraksh malas around their necks. The event was a three-day Marashi Cup Cricket Tournament, organized on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi.
The players were either pujaris and pandits or Sanskrit students.
As the commentators, Devendra Dubey, Raman Mishra and Ankur Pandey went, “Chaturdhanakankah, Shaddhavanankah Labdhah (fours and sixes),” the stadium cheered at its loudest. The players in the field were seen conversing in Sanskrit, too. The matches began with a Sanskrit verse.
The first match on Sunday was won by the Gufa Mandir team, which defeated Gandhi Nagar. The matches were of eight overs each. The second match of the day was played between Lal Ghati Club and Vishwanath XI, where the latter defeated the former. Neelkanth Club snatched the third match of the day from the hands of Maharshi Club. The third match was played between Maharshi Vedic XI and Sandeep Shastri Club.
The organizer, Kapil Sharma, told Free Press that the players of the matches would get Veds books, while the Man of the Series would get a Panchang. The winner of the tournament will get a cash prize of Rs 5,001 and the runner-up will get a cash prize of Rs 2,100.
Chandrashekhar Tiwari from the Sanskriti Bachao Manch said the motive of the tournament was to promote Sanskrit language and culture. All the Karmkandi Brahmins from Bhopal took part in the tournament. The organisers said some of them had held a bat for the first time.
Sanskrit cricket terms:
Cricket: Patakanduka Kreeda
Bat: Kashthapatta
Ball: Kandukam
Wicket: Tridandam Pratibhaginam Kshati
Baller: Kandukakshepak
Fielder: Kshetrarakshak
Umpire: Nirnayakah
Pitch: Kreedanganam
Over: Kandukasamooha
Catch: Karabaddham
Six: Shath Ankah
Four: Chatu Ankah
