Cricket is called a gentlemans game, but in todays day and age with so much focus on the game, tempers can fray. The on-field umpires have the thankless job of not only officiating the games, but also bear the brunt of the players. One such incident was seen during the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association club game between Young Cricketers versus Jolly Rovers CC.
The story as it happened –
Tamil Nadu is known for its rich cricketing heritage. The club structure in Tamil Nadu is such that some of the leading players from around the country come to play the club tournament. Recently even Ravichandran Ashwin played a game just days after returning from West Indies. Baba Aparajith, is a known face in the Ranji format for Tamil Nadu, got into a heated argument in one of the recently concluded games.
Aparajith gets into a tussle –
The 29 year old Baba Aparajith came into bat with the score reading 32 and had lost Vimal Kumar for 11 for obstructing the field. The team was chasing the 164 run score set by Young cricketers club. Tamil Nadu team mate Hari Nishant got the wicket of Aparajith with a ball keeping low as the batter went back into his crease to play the ball.
The fielder at short leg also completed the catch at the same time. In the middle of all this, there was huge protest from the batter. Aparajith refused to head back to the hut despite being given out by the umpire. The 29 year old was seen arguing with the officials and once he was leaving the field, there was more drama. Baba Aparajith came back to the field to have a go at the opposition players as the scenes got uglier.
'The Umpire's decision is final’
— FanCode (@FanCode) August 9, 2023
Baba Aparajith: Hold my bat! pic.twitter.com/A4Cd6sOV8g
Jolly Rovers win the low scoring encounter –
Batting first Young Stars CC were all out for 127 with Lakshay Jain picking 5 wickets while Sunil Krishna top scored with 43. Jolly Rovers then were all out for 119 to give Young Stars an overall lead of 8 runs. For the Jolly Rovers it was Dhruv Shorey who top scored with 38 while Sai Surdarshan scored 34 as Hari Nishant picked 4 wickets.
Armed with a lead of 8 runs Young Stars were bowled out for 155 thanks to Lakshay Jain’s second fifer of the game. Ajay Chetan with 48 not out and Maharashtra’s Naushad Shaikh with 32 were the top scorers. Chasing 164 to win, Jolly Rovers got the target in 46 overs, with Sai Sudarshan leading the batting chart with 67 not out off 92 balls while, Shorey was not out on 29 as Aparajith was out for 34.