Cricket: Why The Bollywood Movie Lagaan Got It Wrong
- Source: Wikipedia
The movie Lagaan revolved around a cricket match in which the Rajah of an Indian rural town during the British Raj seeks to get free of the extortionate taxes (lagaan) the villagers have to pay the rulers.
When the Rajah pleads for a reduction of the levy because of a bad monsoon and the resultant failure of crops, the British officer concerned, Captain Russell, offers a wager. If the villagers could beat the British in a cricket match, they would no longer have to pay the lagaan.
The movie is all about how the villagers learn the game from scratch, and go on to beat the British in a last ball thriller. A great finish in which the Hero needs to score 6 runs off the last ball, and a fielder takes a catch on the fence, only to find he has crossed the boundary in the process. The umpire signals a six, and the villagers roar in triumph.
What’s wrong with this? Everything! The movie was set in the year 1893. The rule regarding the awarding of six runs to the batting side, when a catching fielder crosses the boundary in the process, came into effect, much later, in the twentieth century.
Oops, actually it was I that got it all wrong! I completely forgot that logic and Bollywood movies never go together!
Category: Cricket, Cricket Rules, General
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jinxatious is the Chief Editor of SportingAttitude.com
An avid writer, on an eclectic range of subjects, he brings to bear editorial experience garnered with a national newspaper in South-East Asia. He also has sportscasting experience, as a cricket commentator, and his passion for sport extends beyond Cricket, to Football, Tennis, and Olympic Sports.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
