When two pigeons were killed by two balls at The Oval!

4th June 1997 ❤️

INSAT 2D Launch at Guyana &

IND vs Oz Cricket at The Oval

INSAT 2D, India’s most advanced communication satellite, that aimed at ‘improved communication’, was launched on this day – 4th June 1997, from French Guyana.

The satellite weighing 2,070-kg, and built at Rs 450-crore was sadly, abandoned within four months of launch, because of a ‘jammed solar panel’. It was supposed to have had a ‘mission duration’ of seven years.

Today being a holiday for schools and colleges, all of us – cricket freaks - took to the little open space in the vicinity, as usual, for our gully cricket time, with stumps, ball and bat in hand.

Sampath, Thilak, Murthy, Keerthi, Karthi were the main hands today. 😊

Then went with Thilak to MRS bicycle shop and exchanged the cycle seat thingummy stuff for money, since we didn’t quite know how to fix it! 😉

FAST FORWARDING TO TWO YEARS LATER –

4th June 1999 ❤️

#memoriesfromdiaries

Yet another bad decision by Azhar, Captain of the Indian Cricket team, who elected to field in an easily winnable one-dayer against Australia.

Australia made real mincemeat of the Indian bowling attack, piling up a comfortable 282 for 6 in 50 overs.

Chasing a mammoth score, India couldn’t withstand the bowling of Glen McGrath, [fast medium pace] and considered one of the best bowlers in International Cricket, losing Tendulkar for 0, and two more wickets in quick succession, to McGrath’s opening spell!

With 100 runs required in the last ten overs, all eyes were on Jadeja, who did not disappoint his fans. He went on to score 100 n.o and Nayan Mongia made sure that Jadeja got the strike consistently.

However, the sad highlight of today’s match came during Jadeja’s stint at the turf, when Australian fast bowler Paul Reiffel threw the ball towards the stumps from the boundary line, when it hit a pigeon in mid-air, which subsequently dropped down dead!

Just a few minutes later, Jadeja, while hitting a boundary, struck yet another pigeon dead!

Sadly, two birds in two balls at the Oval on this day! Not a happy news for avid bird enthusiasts though!

Added trivia is that, Glen McGrath was known as the ‘Pigeon’ by his team mates.

So yes! three pigeons then, at the Oval today, that made it to the news!