After it was decided to conduct a fifty over cricket match between the Prakash Nagar cricket team and the Avvai Nagar cricket team, the question arose: who would be the umpire?
Both the captains discussed together and approached Sekhar, a retired cricketer, who had played at the state-level tournaments.
“I am not really interested in being the umpire. My friend Thyagarajan is a better fit. If you want, I will ask him” said Sekhar.
“We have never heard of that name! Has he played in state-level tournaments?” asked Murali, the captain of Prakash Nagar team.
“It’s not as if only cricketers can be good umpires. Even people who have observed cricket matches closely can be good umpires. He is one such person. He has umpired many local-level matches. He knows the rules thoroughly. He is a meticulous observer of the movements of the ball and the players. His decisions are always accurate. Even from a distance, he can call an LBW correctly. His judgment has never been wrong” explained Sekhar.
Both captains looked at each other, nodded, and said, “We will go with him, sir.”
“Wait. I will call him right now and ask him about his availability and willingness” said Sekhar and dialed Thyagarajan's number.
After speaking to Thyagarajan for a minute on the phone, Sekhar said, “Is that so? Wait, I will put the call on speaker so they can also hear.”
After hearing what was said on speaker, Aravindan, the captain of Avvai Nagar team, turned to Murali and said “You have to decide!”
Murali thought for a minute and then said, “We will have him as the umpire, sir,” and looked at Aravindan.
“If it is okay with you, it is okay with me too” replied Aravindan.
Just a few minutes before the match was to begin, Bhadri from the Prakash Nagar team hurriedly came to Murali and said, “Hey, do you know who the umpire is?”
“I know” said Murali.
“You know?”
“It is fine. Mr. Sekhar spoke very highly of him.”
“Alright... but…” Aravindan began, when the umpire’s whistle was heard.
“Come on, they are calling for the toss” Murali said, hurrying away.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, Prakash Nagar team scored 187 runs in 50 overs.
“Not bad!” said Murali.
“Avvai Nagar team’s batting strength is not so good. They won’t be able to handle our bowlers” said Gokul, who himself was out after scoring just 3 runs!
“If you mess up your fielding the way you messed up your batting, that will mean real trouble for us” snapped Sarathi, showing his irritation over Sarathy's poor show.
After the lunch break, Avvai Nagar team’s innings began.
By the end of thirty overs, the Avvai Nagar team had scored only 80 runs for the loss of five wickets. However, Chandru, who had come in at number three, was playing steadily and cautiously, having scored 30 runs till the end of the thirtieth over.
“He is very dangerous. He has already hit two boundaries and a six. If he settles down, we are in trouble,” said Murali, during the tea break.
At the end of 40 overs, the score was 142 for 7. Chandru had scored 62 runs.
“The match is slipping away from the Prakash Nagar team and moving towards Avvai Nagar team. Chandru seems to be calling out 'Victory, be on my side!’” said the commentator.
In the 42nd over, a ball from Nikhil seemed to have barely touched Chandru’s bat and was caught by wicketkeeper Bhadri. Bhadri yelled “Hey!” and raised his hand in appeal. But, he was not sure if the ball had hit the bat! Chandru stood unmoved with a smile, as if it hadn’t.
After a few seconds, the umpire raised his hand signaling that Chandru was out. Chandru looked at the umpire in disbelief and walked away, feeling disappointed.
Even Murali couldn’t believe what he saw. It looked as if the luck had changed sides. 'What Mr. Sekhar had said about the umpire was right” he told himself.
After Chandru’s dismissal, the direction of the game changed. Avvai Nagar team lost all its wickets for 179 runs in 47 overs. Prakash Nagar team won the match by 8 runs.
“Congrats!” said Aravindan, captain of Avvai Nagar team, shaking Murali’s hand. “Not just for the win, but for your maturity in taking a decision about the umpire too!”
“Yes. Even I was a bit scared” said Bhadri.
“Scared! Why? What decision did Murali take?” asked Nikhil, perplexed
“Chandru’s dismissal was the turning point of the match. It was a very tough decision. Even if the umpire had not given him out, we couldn’t have blamed him” said Murali.
“Yeah. He is a great umpire, no doubt. But why did Bhadri say he was scared?”
“Do you know who the umpire is? He is Chandru’s father!” said Murali.
The Path of Virtue
Neutrality
sAnROrkku azhagu.
Verse 118
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