Maths on the Cricket Field!

“Yay! It’s a holiday!” shouted Rahul, grabbing his bat. “Let’s play cricket!”

Twenty-two children gathered in the playground. “Let’s make two teams,” said Meena. They quickly divided into two groups — 11 in each team. “That’s 22 divided by 2” laughed Rahul.

Meena bowled the first over. “One over has 6 balls,” she said. Rahul counted aloud, “If we play 8 overs, that’s 6 × 8 = 48 balls!”

Soon, Karthik hit a long shot. The ball flew over the boundary without touching the ground.

“Wow! That’s a six!” everyone cheered.

Next time, the ball touched the ground and rolled out. “Now that’s a four!” said Meena. “We are learning measurement without even knowing it,” giggled Rani.

They looked at the cricket pitch – a long rectangle. “If the ball goes outside this path, it’s

called a wide,” explained the bowler.

Rahul missed a ball. “Oh no! It hit the stumps!” shouted the keeper. “You’re out!” “We have 10 wickets, so 10 chances!” reminded Karthik. The umpire raised one finger above his head— the signal for an out.

A little later, the scoreboard read: 72/3 in 8.2 overs.

“Hey, what does 8.2 mean?” asked Rani.

“It means 8 overs and 2 balls have been bowled,” explained Meena. “Each over has 6 balls,so 8 overs is 48 balls, and 2 more makes it 50 balls!”

“So it’s like a decimal, but special for cricket!” said Rahul. “Not 8.2 in maths value, but in

cricket, it shows overs and balls!”

As they played, the children realized they were using maths everywhere — counting runs,multiplying overs, dividing teams, measuring the pitch, and even understanding decimals.

“Cricket is more than a game,” said Rahul. “It’s full of maths magic!”

And they all cheered, “Let’s play and learn!”

Article by: Mrs.Aikya, Maths Educator,Thanjavur, Tamilnadu.