HOWZAT!!
For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost -
But how you played the Game
Grantland Rice
The annual Sathguru Cricket Meet was held on 9 February, 2008 at the Sarojini Naidu Cricket and Tennis Academy, Baghlingampally, Hyderabad. The match was played between two teams---RDX captained by Pradeep Raj and Warriors captained by Ashok Jha.
There was a high turnout from the Sathguru family with even some former employees opting to come and actively participate in the festivities. The RDX team won the toss and opted to bat.
At the end of 25 overs, RDX had 180 runs for 4 wickets. The Warriors countered with a very active aggressive approach which enabled them to tot up 181 runs for five wickets in the 19th over. The victorious Warriors then did a victory run of the ground with their banner. What marked the event were the levity, sportsmanship and team spirit displayed by all involved.
K. Balaji of RDX was declared the Man of the Match. Ashok Jha besides being captain of the winning team was also declared Best Batsman. D. Praveen was declared best bowler with Jeevan Prasad declared as best fielder. A special mention must be given to the RDX team who elected to stand their ground and fight despite losing many players who were called away to donate blood for an emergency.
There was active participation from the audience too with some former employees turning to cheer their former colleagues and even volunteering to provide a lively running commentary.
The day did not end with this. The post lunch period witnessed the Sathguru family, players and audience alike, involved in team building exercises. Mr. Sridhar, as co-ordinator split the Sathguru team into four groups – Numero Uno, Hyderabad Nawabs, Bhagnagar Bees and Sye. The group activities were designed to inculcate among the participants:
- the importance of listening to and incorporating the opinions of team members,
- coordination between team members acting as one towards a common goal,
- effective communication among team members, and
- the importance of situational leadership and taking immediate responsibility to provide support to other team members.
Again despite the fact that the four teams competed with the Bees being declared overall winner, there were no real losers. All those who participated went back richer for the experience and the lessons learned.
