Cricket Continues...
School vs Lalit Hari Sugar Factory, Pilibhit
Gursharan Singh continues his reports on this season’s cricket fixtures

The School turned out for the second match of our Pilibhit tour against the mill-men in good spirits and in a better state of preparedness. The mill-men won the toss and elected to bat to the bowling of Gurshant and Jaiveer. Both bowlers were extremely erratic. Gurshant bowled six wides in 3 overs and made no impression on the batsmen. Jaiveer was equally inconsistent and ineffective. We summoned our spinners and, sure enough, Anirudh had Rajesh snapped up by Shukla at mid-wicket almost immediately. The mill were one down for 36, as Goldy joined Kanhaiya and the pair put on 80 enterprising runs for the second wicket, before Goldy was stumped by Ajmani of Amritesh for 35 well-made runs. The mill-men lost wickets at regular intervals after this, and at 169 for 9, with Baheti having bowled a beautiful spell to support Amritesh, we thought we had pegged them down to a manageable score. At 199 for 9, with one over to go, disaster struck! The captain gave the ball to leggie Anirudh, and the unfortunate bowler conceded 25 runs in the over, including four sixes, all hit by Rajan! Our spinners bowled a consistent and nagging line and almost put us in a winning situation. They were backed up by some enthusiastic fielding, and but for that one disastrous over, had achieved more than we thought possible against a very experienced and aggressive mill batting line-up.
A score of 225 to win in 35 overs was a bit on the high side but I am glad to report that the school chased the runs in realistic and positive fashion with Samridh leading with a brilliant and strokeful 81,including 11 hits to the fence! Unfortunately he had only desultory support and the constant changing of partners, due to falling wickets, must have been unsettling for him. Only the Captain, and to an extent Shilavadra , Abhimanyu, and later Dilshad, provided any support. At 141 for 5, we had a chance, but lost Samridh! From 164 for 6 we petered out to be 183 for 9 when the overs ran out.
Despite losing both the fixtures the school team showed fighting spirit, and played their hearts out. That is all one can ask for! We were pitted against seasoned professionals at the district level and there were no free lunches on offer, except in the confines of the pavilion. I must record the exceptionally warm and lavish hospitality of our hosts the Pilibhit family, descendants of Shri Lalitha Prasad and Shri Hari Prasad, after whom the Lalit Hari Sugar Factory is named. The end of proceedings on the cricket ground was followed by a guided tour of the sugar mill. It was a treat to see, first hand, the manner in which a mill that began operations in 1914 or so, has been modernised and refurbished to become a flourishing commercial viability in 2006.
That evening, our entire contingent, which included KPB, DKS and Mrs. Sandeep Singh, had the divine opportunity of offering prayers in the precincts of the private temple maintained by the Pilibhit family. Later, we dined in regal splendour inside the magnificent and exotic haveli of the Prasads! A memorable three days in Pilibhit were capped by a further bonanza, as we travelled to Corbett Park and were guests of Mr. Madhav Prasad and his sons, Tappu and Mukund, at their jungle resort! A glorious safari and a plethora of sumptuous meals alleviated the pain of our cricketing losses!

Scores: LHSF 224 all out; Kanhaiya 52, Goldy 35, Rajan 52 n.o.. Amritesh 3 for 43, Baheti 2 for 23, 1 for 46, Nangia 1 for 16.
The Doon School 183 for 9 in 35 overs; Samridh 81, Avyay 19, Shilavadra 19, A. Raj Singh 14, Dilshad 13.

School vs Mayoor School, Ajmer

Neeraj Bedhotiya, former Housemaster of Oberoi House, fearsome fast bowler and charismatic teacher of Physics, now the Principal of Mayoor School, Ajmer, came down with his cricket team, and played the school on Sunday, April 16l.
Mayoor won the toss and batted first. They began well, and the two openers looked accomplished against Gurshant and Siddarth Sharma who bowled well, maintaining the parameters of conservative aggression! Pranay broke the shackles of the first few overs with a lovely on-drive, and soon followed up with a scintillating straight drive, both of Gurshant. Geet, too, joined in the action, and picked off Sharma for a couple of leg-side boundaries. The score mounted ominously towards the 100 mark as Amritesh and Shukla operated in tandem. At 95 for none in 22 overs, the batsmen were well-entrenched and in position to go on the rampage, but Amritesh struck, bowling Geet for 23 steady run! Left-handed Nitin came in and showed himself to be of the attacking mould with some free-flowing shots. He was taken by Kocher off Shukla as he tried to sweep an armer. Mayoor soon lost Pranay, the mainstay of their batting, who was the victim of a ball from Shukla that stood up on him. Thereafter the innings was in disarray and Mayoor folded up in the 33rd over for 137, a modest score at best!
The school opened with Samridh and Ajmani. Ajmani played extravagantly at a ball on his middle stump and was bowled for a duck of the fourth ball of the innings, putting the team under enormous pressure. The

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