Hitting the Heights - One of the most beautiful Cricket Grounds in the World

Arangkel - Kashmir

Backgrounder and a Fitness, Travel, Warm Up guide for a special Cricket Match:

Having completed the 6 hours toil of travel and then half an hour hike to the valley of Arangkel, I was rather refreshed by the views awaiting me than falling down on my back to catch my breath or running into the rest house to unpack, take shower or get some rest. The charm of the site attracted and forced me to stay just there and enjoy the view (I could almost sense that dramatic jaw dropping, eyes widening scene taking place in a movie).

The chairlift above the gushing Jehlum river linking Kel Village to Arangkel

I was awestruck by the scenic view and the beautifully constructed wooden houses. It was like anything I had imagined, a big flat ground cupped between the high mountains with the onrush of scenery. It was so perfectly surrounded but the high mountain walls as if to intentionally preserve and isolate it from the rest of the world.

I thought a cup of chai to this view would be a cherry on the cake but upon hearing that on such high altitude cooking takes time, so I thought of taking a round of the place and see what's more to it. As soon as I crossed the houses and meadows in between I was out in the clear, it was wide-open area to the extent visibility could take access. A few stumps of removed gally trees, some logs scattered around and a small cattle grazing and not to forget some beautiful little kids, most of them in shalwar kameez playing cricket on a roughly drawn pitch.

The Cricket Ground

As soon as I saw the team of these spirited little kids who were engaged in an appeal during the course of play, thereby agitating ouster of the rival batsman. As I stood there and waited impatiently for the final verdict, they all turned around shyly and dispersed quickly to go ahead with the game avoiding the unnecessary attention it was gaining.

From a different angle as the kids dispersed

This was quite an interesting sight for me and now I didn't want to be a mere spectator but to bridge the gap of hesitation between us. I took a few steps forward and asked one of the kids if I could play along. To which he did not respond at first and some other kids laughed, but then some boys came forward with their bat (which was an indigenous bat made of improperly carved wood) and a tennis ball. Handing over the 'kit' he said it's time for him to leave so I can make a choice of my team and play with the rest.

There were no teams, it was just an Individual play. We had to take our turns and chase the highest score set by the best contender. I was as excited to play this game as I get during the India vs. Pakistan cricket matches. This for me was "The mother of all games".

The match finally started and I, of course, was the bowler. Oh, no! don't get me wrong, I suck at it. I seriously do. I can either throw the ball as I hit the shuttle while playing badminton (YKWIM?) or extremely, I repeat extremely WIDE. But hey C'mon, I wanted to learn and what better place could there be for learning when even the kid was patient enough to bear with my absurdities in the name of bowling.

And I know many of you wouldn't believe this because then happened something the nobody not even I expected, the ball went straight into the wickets :O and Noooh, it wasn't even a "No Ball" huh. I was both literally and metaphorically "On Top of The World".

Meri Baari | My Turn

Then came my turn, of course, to take the stage and show the world what a striker I was! The bowler on the other end was in full mood to swing the ball and avenge his loss. He even smirks at the camera as you can see as if saying, (the famous Imran Khan quote) "Main inhay rulaoon ga!" 

Says: "Main inhay rulaoon ga"

To see if he could manage to do, stay tuned...

Smash or Hit - Whatever you call it.

Bowler in action: A full throw

He was good, really good for a boy his age but I was no less either for an unsporty girl my age. He tried his best but to no avail, one over gone and he could not shake my wickets or my spirits. :D

I'm waiting like: "Aur koi hai jo mujhe haraey??"

Then came another to try his luck. He was the tiniest and cutest but not be taken easy. Seeing him in action one wonders, "Rawalpindi Expres, Who??"

Is that a catch ???!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOO!! God saved me, Haha! Okay, so this was real fun. They must've thought this girl from city life is no competition and we'll satiate her desire for cricket in 2 minutes but dude, I stretched on the game! ;) Although, not to mention I was already a winner for having stayed on the pitch for so long but none of their goals now was to chase the score but to take my wicket. I was over the moon haha, I was the Sachin of this game.

Then came the BIG guy to try his luck...

Oh, of, course not. Even he couldn't... ;)

 I just wasn't in a mood to leave the pitch today

But ALAS! I had to leave it, as the unforeseen came through. Our keeper left the game as his turn wasn't coming. Funny as it may sound but keep yourself in his shoes before throwing a laugh! Waiting kills. It's the worst thing that can happen to anybody. And those of you who hate cricket can really see the point here. The game could take its toll!

So now I had to run around and do the fielding too!!

Moral of the story? The hero wins! :D