KOCHI: Hours before Team India had entered the pitch at the Greenfield stadium at the capital city for the match against New Zealand, a unique kind of cricket match was already being played at Kovalam. There was no dry pitch, as four players in cricketing gear swam underwater for a game.
The adventurous game to cheer the Indian cricket team was the idea of four cricketing enthusiasts, who along with a few scuba diving instructors, all of them part of Bond Underwater Safari, the Kovalam-based adventure company, took up the task of playing the underwater match. Says Jackson Peter, managing partner, Bond Safari, “The match started by around 3.30 pm and went on for half-an-hour. The T20 match got over with three overs each.”
Including the scuba diving instructors, who coupled up as players as well, around ten players participated in the underwater match. Diving instructors Subin Kallarickal and Shibin Sebastian led the two teams, each team consisting of four players.
According to Jackson, the reason for coming up with the underwater T20 match was to share their enthusiasm for the sport. Even though the climate was not good, the team seemed to have a great time.
“I believe such an event is happening for the first time in the country. It was a wonderful experience. We felt the need to do something special as International cricket match was coming back to the city after 30 years. We were rooting for Team India,” he said.