Cricket: A game #weplaytogether

The match was a seven-a-side match in which each team would field five girls and two boys.

Although the rain gods played spoilsport on 6 April, the scheduled day of the match, it did not dampen the spirit of the children. It was rescheduled for 10 April when it was played with great enthusiasm. As the match was held on the grounds of GPS Supi, the visiting team travelled on foot for five kilometres to play. The match was played with great sporting spirit by both the teams and was a fiercely contested game, especially considering the fact that all 10 girls were playing their first competitive game on that day.

The match – which ended with victory for GPS Talai – was very important as it was the first time boys and girls took to the field together in the region. Although sceptical initially, the crowd who had come to support the teams quickly took to the new concept and cheered the teams along.

At the end of the match, the prize ceremony included giving the winning team a Carom board and a set of badminton rackets and the runner-up was given two sets of badminton rackets. The player of the match – a girl who few fancied to play well – was awarded a board game which would be kept in school as well. The main aim at having these things as prizes was to make sure sports and games were promoted in these schools with a sustainable model.

This game was made a success with the efforts of the head teachers Alka Lohani and Sandeep Kumar, along with the assistant teachers Leela Takuli and Uma Devi, and Aniketh Mendonca, a Gandhi Fellow with Kaivalaiya Education Foundation.

[This article has been edited by the Operating Team.]