The children of Ekadaksha have been learning to play Cricket. Every wednesday during the first term of the academic year, they would play cricket with their peers and teachers. They have learnt to bat, take runs, bowl to the batsman and field the ball. The game has been slightly modified to suit the needs of the children. The length of the pitch is smaller, they play with a lighter bat and tennis ball. Teachers guide the children accordingly.
*Batting: The teacher will help each child according to their levels. Some children may need to be told to look at the ball to hit, some may need slight physical prompts and some are independent who just need encouragement.
*Making runs: Two teachers stand at either end of the pitch near the stumps. One teacher is helping the child with batting. Once the child hits the ball, the teacher on the opposite side calls the child to take runs and so also to go back to the batting line. The child takes runs until a fielder hands over the ball to the bowler.
*Bowling: The teacher will help each child to bowl by telling them to aim at the cricket bat. They are told to look and then throw accordingly.
*Fielding: The children stand at specific points on the field. A teacher is there to guide each child by encouraging them to pick up the ball and hand it over to the bowler. Some children run to pick up the ball by themselves while some need to given verbal or physical prompts.
After practicing these skills at school, Ekadaksha decided to keep a Cricket match. The main idea to conduct this friendly match at a place other than school was to give the children opportunities to play with different people as well as for people to understand how to have fun with our children with special needs. Most children in India grow up with cricket - we watch cricket, talk about cricket and play in on the streets/these days in indoor sports centers too. So why not give our children this same kind of fun. And indeed i was great fun.
The Ekadaksha Cricket match was held on 10th January 2025 at Whistle - Urban Sports Hub, Nungambakkam Chennai. The children were divided into 2 teams with 2 wonderful young people Kaushik Ram (who has come to school to play with the children) and Sharat Narayan as captains and 2 of the teachers Ms.Sumangali and Ms.Komathi as the vice captains respectively. The toss was done by Praveen Gulecha who was the Umpire for the day. The toss was won by Team Kaushik who chose to bat first.Team Kaushik did batting as he and the teacher helped them take runs, while Sharat bowled and his team fielded. This team scored 56 runs. After this there was a snacks break with yummy stuff from Disha's delight. The next to bat was Team Sharat as he and the teacher helped them take runs, while Kaushik bowled and his team fielded. This team scored 82 runs.
It was lovely to see the competitive spirit as well as an understanding of how to guide the children. It melts our hearts when people take our children in their stride, accept them wholeheartedly and enjoy with them fully. This is exactly what these to wonderful young people did.
After the scores were declared with the winners being Team Sharat, Mr. Vidyut Shivaramakrishnan, a former Ranji Trophy player who has also played for Chennai super kings, presented the winning trophy, medals and certificates to the children. We thank him for being there to watch the children play and appreciate their efforts.
Mr. Anand Perampati, a sports lover who has been playing Cricket in the TNCA league for more than 50 + years and also served as the Chairman of TNPL, presented the runners up, Team Kaushik, with medals and certificates. We thank him for being there, encouraging the children and spreading positive vibes.
The parents who were spectators also encouraged their children, cheered on and enjoyed the confusion that sometimes happened. At times the batsman would pick the ball to help the fielder, or some of them would run way beyond the pitch. At times, by the time one of our children slowly came to pick the ball, another enthusiastic boy would have run across the field to pick the ball. One of our boys hit like a real batsman with fours and sixes too. There was so much fun , laughter and energy, it was amazing to be part of.
We thank The KSN Sports Foundation for supporting this event and making it possible for us to give this memorable time to the children and the teachers.
Click here to see photos of the Ekadaksha Cricket Match.
Click here to see videos of all the children in action.
Click here to watch the event.
