CRICKET MATCH

Generally, I watch cricket matches on the television screen. But recently there took place at the Qazafi Stadium, Lahore one-day cricket match, for which my elder brother purchased two tickets, one for him and the other for me. I was glad, as I shall have now an opportunity to see the players with my own eyes in the field. The match was to be held between Pakistan and West Indies. The game began in time. The players of both the teams walked as heroes into the field. There was tremendous joyful clapping in the auditorium. The Umpires took their respective positions. The toss decided which of the teams was going first to the batting; and the luck was in favour of West Indies. I am a great fan of Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall of the West Indies team. On the Pakistan side, my favourites are Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq. Recently, I have begun to like Umar Gul, too. All these cricketers were now before my eyes playing in the field. It was amusing, indeed. The game continued with great excitement. The West Indies team scored 237 runs for 9 wickets before the break. During the break, we had light tiffin. My brother bought some sandwiches. A vendor supplied us coffee. The game resumed soon after the break. Shahid Afridi's fine bowling took all the remaining wickets. After the West Indies completed their turn by securing 289 runs, the Pakistani team began their batting with Muhammad Hafeeez and UmarAkmal. They were steady and scored 97 runs within a very short time. They seemed to be intentionally slow and very steady in their performance. When Shahid Afridi appeared in the field. There was a loud rejoicing and clapping of the enthusiastic spectators. Afridi firmly took his position, and got ready for batting. Now it was a worth-seeing game, in which the bowling by Malcolm and the batting of the two Pakistani giant players, Umar and Afridi, created a sensational cricket scene. They scored -13 runs, when Afridi was out. Then came Shoaib Malik, the youngest cricket hero, who did not also disappoint us. He went on scoring runs, one after another. In this way, the game continued till 4-30 P.M., and the Pakistani team won the game surpassing their competitors by about 27 runs, I returned home with a content heart.