Shillpi A Singh

India's loss to West Indies in the World T20 semi-finals was a
heart-breaking news for cricket-crazy fans across the world.
While the men, mostly Indians, settled in Muttrah, Muscat, chose to
sulk, completely devastated by the news of India's premature exit from
the tournament, their better halves did the unthinkable. The motley
crew of women, hailing from different states in India, belonging to
different age groups and coming from varied career backgrounds,
organised a T20 cricket match in 10 days flat. The game was held to a
packed house on Saturday, April 9, 2016, at the local ground in
Muttrah.

The ladies didn't have enough time on their hands. The legwork for the
cricket match started with converting the empty land in the
neighbourhood where kids played in the evening into a cricket field.
The two teams were named Scorpions and Tigers and a draw of lots
selected the team-mates. The Scorpions were captained by Shabana Haris
while Mayaja Harish led the Tigers. The net practise for the team
members was next most important thing on the agenda. "Practice makes a
man perfect. It was indispensable to get the hang of bat and ball for
a good show on the D-Day," said Sunita Singh, a member of Team
Scorpions, adding, "The ladies took time out of their busy schedules
and showed up at the practice sessions without fail." The ladies had a
hard task master in the form of their children. Like obedient
students, mothers were left with no choice but follow the batting and
bowling tips shared by their children and practise daily under their
watchful eyes.

Once the teams were in place, the next thing to do was finalise the
dress code for the match. It was T-Shirts, white for the Scorpions and
Red for the Tigers, to be worn with black track pants.
They even managed to arrange for two altruist sponsors who give away
prizes to the winning team, and also to the participants. The ladies
had contributed 2.5 Rials each, of which they spent 32 Rials on the
Trophy and 10 Rials on engaging cleaners for the event; the remaining
amount they will be returned to the participants.
On that sunny Saturday afternoon, when the teams assembled on the
ground, little did they realise that it would be an affair to remember
for the players and spectators alike. The Tigers won the Toss and
Scorpions batted first, setting a target of 88 runs for their
opponent. The Tigers chased this score and won the match by six
wickets.

The all-woman cricket match had Aslam and Suneer gracing the event as
Umpires while Siddhartha Sharma and Rohit Gupta took care of
commentary.

It was a sight to behold as the ladies were huffing and puffing on the
ground, busy running between the wickets to score runs or bowling and
fielding, while their husbands, with children in tow, chose to stand
happily in the sweltering heat, dutifully cheering for their wives'
team.
And mind you all these women had never played cricket before; it was their maiden outing, and they have bowled over one and all with their power-packed performance. Way to go ladies!

The author can be contacted at shilpi.devsingh@gmail.com