Imagine that you are watching a game of casual cricket and the batsman in the middle is taking the bowlers to the cleaners. You don’t know who the batsman is but you are completely captivated by his stroke-play. The game is soon done and the batsman at the centre takes off his disguise and you suddenly realise that he is your favourite batsman! You have cheered for him all through and it is his batting that you have enjoyed the most. How would you react?
That’s exactly what happened to cricket fans, who had turned up at the Sourav Ganguly Cricket Academy in Kolkata for a private event.
The campaign invited cricket enthusiasts from all over the city to join television personality Rannvijay in a game of cricket.
A video of the event was posted on YouTube.
The video began with the host playing a few shots off balls delivered from a bowling machine. He then invited people from the audience to beat his score. Seeing others bat, one of the pizza delivery guys gestured and commented on how the people could improve their batting techniques. The host then called out to the pizza delivery guy to take stance.
The bearded pizza delivery guy took a right-handed stance and struggled to get bat to ball. Suddenly, he reversed his stance and things turned. A flurry of fours and sixes flowed from his bat as a cheering crowd looked on. A die-hard cricket fan could hardly miss the classic off-drives and the vintage pull-shots over mid-wicket.
It was quite apparent to the familiar eye that this was no ordinary batsman.
The host then proceeded to take a selfie with the day’s centurion. The batsman eventually took his prosthetic nose and beard off and the crowd realised that it had been the Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly in the guise of a pizza delivery guy.
An excited crowd could hardly keep their voices down as they scrambled to capture the moment on their phones.
Its not everyday that you see Dada bat in person.
It sure was a lucky and unforgettable day for all those who attended the event.
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