Ishan hits sixes for a cause

Just before the much awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off at the Wankhede stadium on April 7, a galaxy of Indian cricket stars took the field here on Saturday night for an exhibition match.

The Motor Vehicles Department, Maharashtra (MVD) in association with the TATA Group came together to host the Horn Not Ok Please T20 Cup, to raise awareness for the ongoing road safety and no honking initiative. This exhibition match was played by two teams – Road Safety XI and No Honking XI.

The match featured India’s top stars like Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, K. L. Rahul, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya and Suresh Raina. Mumbai’s own players Abhishek Nayar, Pravin Tambe and Shreyas Iyer also took to the field to raise awareness about traffic problems, road safety issues and the noise pollution.

However, this didn’t discourage noise inside the stadium, as the crowd came in hughe numbers to watch their stars and picthed in high decibels for every good shot played and good ball bowled.

It was Mumbai Indians’ new recruit Ishan Kishan, who stole the night with an unbeaten 124 in 49 balls, to steer Suresh Raina’s Road Safety XI to an easy ten-wicket win over No Honking XI, led by Yuvraj Singh. The 19-year-old hit 12 sixes and nine fours to entertain the crowd and give them hope about what to expect from him in the IPL. Road Safety XI made 204 in 14 overs, with Shikhar Dhawan chipping in with an unbeaten 68. No Honking XI had earlier made 202/9 in their 20 overs, mainly due to KL Rahul’s half century.

“We had to chase an excess of 200, so the pressure was there. But as I settled in it was pretty easy there. I have to play here for two months, so I am feeling good and have to keep things simple during the tournament,” said Kishan, who earned the man of the match and most sixes award.  

Raina too praised Kishan, his teammate from the erstwhile Gujarat Lions franchise. “Ishan has been brilliant, I played with him in Gujarat Lions, he can play freely and I wish best of luck for him in Mumbai Indians,” Raina said.

Yuvraj admitted he could do nothing but witness the carnage as his halpless bowlers were undone by the dew factor. “I was a mere spectator there. The ball was getting hard for bowlers to bowl,” he said.

Honking problems

Indian cricketers Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik supported the cause and hoped honking is reduced, as it leads to nuisance on the roads. “It’s a menace and leads to quarrels. I hope common sense prevails and we can drive peacefully like abroad,” Karthik said.

“People are dying on the roads so we have to stop it,” Yuvraj said. “It was a good game for a good cause,” Raina said.

The no honking initiative began with the aim to reduce and possibly eliminate the trauma caused by noise pollution. Vehicular honking in cities has reached alarming levels, contributing 70 per cent of the noise pollution in our environment, according to Transport officials. Normal acceptable ambient sound levels for human habitation is below 55 decibels. Honking creates sounds of 110 decibels and above. Mumbai registers over 70 db of ambient noise for long hours – much higher than is safe for human habitation levels. This causes various health concerns ranging from headache, stress, hearing loss, insomnia, dementia, hypertension and aggression, leading to cardiac problems.

While it started off as a campaign on social media, the No Honking initiative has now gained thousands of followers online, lakhs of citizen pledges and support from over 100 well-known personalities including doctors, Padma Shri and Magsaysay awardees, actors and sportsmen.