Date:02/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/02/stories/2006050220050300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Corporators, officials battle it out

Staff Reporter

Commissioner's XI beats Mayor's XI by six wickets

WHO IS STRONGER?: Mayor Mumtaz Begum along with her team members in action during a tug-of-war competition with Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials in Bangalore on Monday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Bangalore: The tussle between the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Commissioner and the Mayor took a different turn on Monday and was played out on the ground.

It was an annual "battle of roses" between the Commissioner's XI and the Mayor's XI and the ground we are referring to is the cricket ground. The match played here on Monday at the Chinnaswamy stadium as part of the Kempegowda Day celebrations saw the Commissioner's team walk away triumphant beating the corporators by six wickets, even though they put up a good fight.

Former test cricketer Sadanand Vishwanath was the chief guest. Mayor Mumtaz Begum officially gave the go ahead for the match. Just like the usual BMP meeting with its battle of egos and heated arguments, here too there were all the ingredients needed for a good match on a hot summer day.

The attire of the officials was yellow shirt with branded wristbands, while the corporators were in white shirts and blue trousers.

Both the teams had proper cricket gear and kits just like professional players.

The Mayor's XI won the toss and decided to bat first. They put up 146 runs on the board.

From the Mayor's team, Basavanagudi corporator Satyanarayana put up a good fight with 28 runs while Deputy Mayor M. Laxminarayana and Mahadev scored 19 runs each.

From the Commissioner's team, bowlers Anand and Madhuranath took two wickets each while Balakrishna scored an unbeaten 72 and Umesh put an unbeaten 19 on the board. They scored 148 with still one over remaining.

Spectators cheered for their respective teams. With 11 runs and 18 balls remaining, the Commissioner's XI edged towards victory, just like they did last year.

And just like last year, this year too, the corporators won the tug-of-war game, led by the Mayor.