What will you remember about 2023 - The most memorable moments !!!

What better way to end the year than get a set of our finest cricketers to share what memory from the maidaan stayed fresh on their minds. 

The TREES clearly created the most news!!

Kishore 

Cricket is a game of passion, skill, and unpredictability. Sometimes, it can also create moments of magic and history that stay with you forever. I had one such moment when I participated in an external cricket tournament with two teams from SP. It was an unforgettable experience that grounded me on the true spirit of cricket and community.

At the Nth moment it was decided that two teams from SP would be participating. Team B was formed at the last minute with the left-out players who wanted to join the fun. I was part of Team B and we had no expectations or pressure. We just wanted to enjoy the game and have a good time.

The final was a complete cracker and the verdict was not out even after the last ball. What transpired after the last ball was surely historical not only in SP maidaan cricket but guess in one of the rare cricket history books (pun intended!). Team B won the tournament by the narrowest of margins and in the most dramatic of fashions. Everyone was in absolute disbelief with the way the match ended. Team B had pulled off a miracle and made history. But the icing on the cake was the sheer community spirit that took over when Team B was declared the winner. While Team A lost the tournament it did not matter as every player across both the teams got the best paisa vasool for complete entertainment.

Editors note : TEAM B did not win the tournament but it was better than a WIN !!

Shiten

When the Gentlemen of Palladian gather at their Mecca, it's always a spectacle to witness the clashes – not of cricket skills, but of egos soaring higher than sixes. At 40+,  grown-ups fight for what each believe is their fundamental right on the field, turning it into a mecca of chaos.

As a serene observer (far from controversy's reach), I once saw the meek Vicky taking on the usually calm Mark. It was a David and Goliath remake, but with a cricket twist – a perfect adaptation of two worlds colliding on the pitch.

Vicky, in a quest for excitement, picked a fight for no apparent reason(like always), finding himself in a blind date scenario, only to end up against the towering "Goliath" Mark. It was like watching a Hinglish linguistic battle, with one hurling choicest abuses in Hindi and the other responding with the fanciest English retorts, neither comprehending the other's verbal jabs.

The climax approached when Vicky, in a moment of absurdity, breached Mark's personal space, almost triggering a sucker punch. In the midst of Vicky's vivid imagination envisioning the impact on his face, sense prevailed. His eyes widened, realizing the potential consequences of that sucker landing on his cheek, he swiftly changed tracks, deciding to retreat to the pavilion and savor the remainder of the game from a safe distance. Ah, the drama of the Maidaan! Always a fun entertainer during the weekends where one witnesses the ultimate high’s and lows of the week!

Chaitanya

A couple of buckets for me.
First - Personally it has to be taking HK's wicket. I still remember the sequence of balls. I was trying to set him up for the slower one. Almost didn't work. Quicker one -4, bouncer - dot, another quicker one -4 and then the slower one that moved away just a touch - he mishit that over the fence on off. This wicket changed my confidence as a bowler and took pressure off my batting, cos now I had two ways to contribute.
Second - The way the kids have stepped up - especially Ayush and Pranav. And a special mention for Dhruv. His presence and his mindset have been so refreshing. He has started translating that into performances as well.

Harsha

A few months ago we were all motivated to play on a 360 ground.  So after much planning we went to the Yemalur playground.  Match had a solid start with all standars rules.  As the match progressed, so did the rulebook, especially the boundary lines... resulting in what we call as healthy debates. This came back to haunt the team batting second as they were at the receiving end at this close match (one team always is).

After the match however everyone walking back to Sobha were joking around and content that we may have been removed from maidaan, but not remove our maidaan (approach) from us.  After all good spices and salt is what makes a great match eve. more memorable.

Piyush 

Most memorable for me is how HK's batting went for a toss after he shaved off his beard. It's almost like he became a good boy.

Also very heartwarming was that while all the games were super heated, no one was singled out by anyone on either team for individual poor performance. Extremely mature on the part of everyone. It's so easy to point fingers, but no one even once did that. Everyone won and lost together as a team, which allowed everyone to get together after a hard fought game and have a beer, or thanks to Samir and Shitendra, some amazing cocktails!

HK

Most Memorable Moment - First morning after I moved into SP, was looking out of the balcony and saw people getting together for cricket. Had not played cricket for 10+ years. Was feeling so happy walking down to check if I can join. Weekends are not the same anymore.

Funniest Moment: Aashish / Arjun asked me what should we do about tree catch. I said let's keep it out however the tree catch is.

Scoreline: Tree 3 HK 0

Raghu

Of all the crazy rules in Maidaana, tree catch out is perhaps the most cruel for the batsman. But then it seems like HK manages to get out that way more than others and then you realize that it is divine justice that someone so good needs to have the odds stacked against. Distinctly remember one of them falling into my hands, of all places in the mid-off position. Before that ball, i was shouting catch aayega and then see HK hit a big one only for it to get entangled high in the branches and plop into my hands. Imagine the schadenfreude!

Susmit

The funniest moment was when Harsha started truly believing that he is Jonty!

Satya

In one of the crucial official matches (this was previous Vikings & Infernos), I was part of Infernos and I was umpiring. Kings was in good form. He hit a mid off drive and the fielder threw a direct hit. I could see he was out and almost raised my hand halfway when Hari who was outside threw his trademark fit and yelled a super confident not out. Kings who is generally quiet and chilled out looked at my eyes with an intense spine chilling Kaantara look and said "I am 201% sure I reached" (god only knows why he added that extra 1 to 200). Knowing very well that he is out, I was in the cross roads of analysing my probability of getting killed. I weighed in, if "I don't give out" Vikings will kill me and if "I give out" Infernos will ; but then I realised if Vikings try to kill me Infernos will save my ass, but if Infernos try to, Vikings won't ... so I made a decision of NOT OUT and saved my ass; and the rare incidences of narrow escapes from life and death situation you don't forget do you?

Dhruv 

1)1st day at the maidaan...warm welcome and captains trying to size me up... more hype than delivery...got scolded by Sathya for giving away too many runs..Harsha took me to the cleaners.... Sore arm, body and knee gave away. Determined to get back in reasonable shape

2) Partnership with Mark in an official..Got Vikings to a respectable total thanks to a late surge (I think we won that match)

3)After the first day at maidaan and bowling fiasco.. Got to open the bowling in a friendly and took three wickets... Quickly brought back to reality by Arjun in over two... Hit for three fours in a row and not brought back

4) Mayhem at the maidaan on Gandhi Jayanti...what a fun game in a high scoring thriller..

Especially loved the ways the kids finished under high pressure

5) Raghu was batting well, I was given leg umpire responsibility and Raghu miscued a high full toss, got caught...Raghu hasn't spoken to me since

6) Thanks for being an inclusive group... Never imagined maidaan cricket would evoke so much emotion and camaraderie Look forward to another great next year and maybe newer faces

Bipin

Hari’s outbursts on the field always a special feature on the field and while each of them are immensely memorable and provide comic relief for months and years to come, the special one for me was the latest outburst wherein he refused to leave the field and threw a tantrum akin to a 3 year old. What made this special was the look on Pranav’s face when the facade of a calm and collected dad unfortunately crumbled in front of his eyes.

Hari 

I am too busy...Will be updated once ready :-)