Cricket at the Zoo

Cricket at the Zoo BookBox

Arvi hears a strange buzz as he is walking through the zoo. He looks up and sees a group of monkeys listening to the radio!

Unable to hide his surprise, he asks, "Are you listening to the radio? Is that a cricket game on?" "Of course, you silly ape," the monkeys chatter. "Don’t you know that all animals love cricket?"

Arvi loves cricket too! He decides to start a game with the animals at the zoo. He throws his ball high in the air.

An elephant catches it. "We will make a big score and also take many wickets," trumpets the elephant. "Sri Lanka will win!"

A Royal Bengal tiger leaps across a fence and snatches the ball from the elephant.

He whacks the ball with his paw and sends it flying high up in the sky. "No way, we will beat everyone with our batting might," the tiger roars. "India will win!"

The lions swiftly build a pyramid to catch the ball. "No one can match our teamwork. England will win!"

Just then, a flock of kiwis burrows holes underneath the lions’ paws, and the lion pyramid collapses.

"Don’t underestimate our strategy," the kiwis tweet. "New Zealand will win!"

The mountain goats skip in and bleat, "Let’s see who can handle the spin and speed of our bowlers. We will take all the wickets and the Cup. Pakistan will win!"

"No, the Cup is ours!" cheer the deer. "We will steal quick runs and sprint away with the Cup. South Africa will win!"

All the commotion wakes up the kangaroos. "For us, it’s a simple hop, skip and jump to the Cup," they chortle. "Australia will win, mates!"

The animals surround Arvi and ask, "So which team are you supporting? Who do you think will win, Arvi?"

But before Arvi can make up his mind. . . "Wake up Arvi, Wake up! We have a surprise for you!"

Arvi yawns and wakes up. His parents are smiling at him and say: "We have tickets to see the finals of the Cricket World Cup!"

So, which team do you think will win?