Meet the champions of Switch Hit – Hindustan Times Cricket League Quiz

The much-awaited National Final of Switch Hit – Hindustan Times Cricket League Quiz proved to be a roaring success with students of grades 8 to 12 having made it to the Top 10 from all over India. The mega quizzing event took place on 7th May from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The complete list of winners will be announced soon on the Switch Hit official page. There are exciting prizes up for grabs for the winners of this online cricket quiz, including a chance to watch the smash hit T20 Eliminators and Final Live, team jerseys and merchandise, as well as Amazon vouchers worth Rs. 25,000.

The National Final of Switch Hit – Hindustan Times Cricket League Quiz was conducted over Zoom by Mr. Meghashyam Shirodkar, one of the distinguished quizmasters of the country. Popularly known as ‘Megatron’ in Indian quizzing circles, Mr. Shirodkar has been hosting quizzes in India for over two decades. He has conducted prestigious quizzes such as Smartacus (the Hindustan Times National Inter-School Quiz), the HDFC Ergo Insurance Awareness Award Junior Quiz (Asia’s largest school quiz), CBSE Heritage India Quiz, and SEBI’s Annual All-India Employee Quiz, among others.

“I was excited to meet some of India’s brightest young Master Blasters during the Switch Hit – Hindustan Times Cricket League Quiz National Final and I’m happy to report that they exceeded my expectations. Their love for cricket and aptitude for quizzing were both amply demonstrated by the speed and accuracy with which they responded to the questions. I’m happy with the quiz’s success and would like to believe that the young ones learned a lot about cricket trivia while also having fun on a Sunday morning,” says Mr. Shirodkar.

What was the quiz format?

The National Final had various interesting and innovative rounds, such as ‘Opening The Innings’, ‘Jersey Karni Waisi Bharni’, ‘Middle Overs’, and ‘Stats Pe Charcha’ with 10 questions in each round. The rules for each round were explained by the quizmaster prior to that round’s commencement. For instance, each correct answer fetched 10 runs to the participants in the first two rounds while students could score 15 runs for every right answer in the last two rounds. Moreover, each finalist could also double their points (runs) for any one question in the ‘Stats Pe Charcha’ round by clearly stating “I Double” before answering. The catch here was that in case one answered incorrectly after Doubling, 15 Runs would be deducted from their score! There was no negative marking for an incorrect answer anywhere else in the quiz. The modern quizzing method of Infinite Bounce passing was used while passing questions to other participants, in clockwise and anti-clockwise manner for each alternate round.

What do the winners say?

The winners were ecstatic to have taken part in Switch Hit – Hindustan Times Cricket League Quiz. The quiz was a truly unique and exciting experience for them. Here’s what the Top 3 had to say.

Talking to HT School Ujjwal Parashar, the National Champion of Switch Hit Final round studying in Grade 10 at Sunbeam English School, Bhagwanpur, Varanasi, said, “The entire process of registering for and appearing in the Switch Hit Quiz was quite user-friendly. I got to learn some new questions about this format of cricket. I would also like to say that Meghashyam Sir made us feel very comfortable throughout the four rounds during the Final, which definitely helped us in performing better.” Further, the young quizzer pointed out that the questions asked during the National Final were easily workable as compared to those in the Qualifier and National Semi-Final rounds.

Describing his experience, B Sri Shivendra, a ninth grader from Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School Siruseri, Chennai who bagged the second spot, mentioned, “I have participated in many HT School quizzes such as ClassAct and Smartacus earlier. I attempted a lot of Quizverse questions before being part of Switch Hit – Hindustan Times Cricket League Quiz. The questions were not straightaway tough or easy, rather they were tricky as they made you think to come up with the answer.” The question related to the ‘KGF’ nickname for Kohli-Glenn Maxwell-Faf du Plessis was a memorable one for him.

On the other hand, Yash Aggarwal from D.A.V Public School Pushpanjali Enclave, Delhi, who is the third rank holder, shared how he likes to stay on top of current affairs and general knowledge trivia. Adding further he averred, “It was an incredible opportunity for me to be a part of Switch Hit, as I am an IPL fan myself. The quizmaster asked an interesting mix of questions where we had to apply common sense more than anything else. I am eagerly looking forward to participating in more such quizzes organised by HT School.” Yash found the question on the Kochi Tuskers jersey colours posed by the quizmaster to be a rather interesting one.

Top 5 Q&A from Switch Hit National Final

Some of the more popular questions from these rounds were as tantalising as a Ravichandran Ashwin doosra!” Here are the Top 5 Questions for you to try.

When Brendon McCullum failed a dope test during IPL 2016 after a match against the then-Delhi Daredevils team at Ferozshah Kotla Stadium, Delhi, he explained to the BCCI that it was the result of an increased intake of his asthma medicine. Exactly what prompted this increase in his medicine intake?

The heavy air pollution in Delhi!

Who is the only player to have won the IPL both as Coach and as a player in the team, in the same year?

The late Shane Warne.

During IPL 2021, Lockie Ferguson won the “Fastest Delivery” award with the fastest ball bowled. Appropriately, which yummily popular Indian startup sponsored the “Fastest Delivery” award?

Swiggy, because they are famous for fast deliveries (of food)!

When Sarfaraz Khan was picked by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he chose a jersey number to pay tribute to his beloved father Naushad Khan, who played a vital role in his success as a cricketer. What very appropriate-sounding number did he choose?

97, since in Hindi, 9 is ‘Nau’ and 7 is ‘Saat’; ‘Nau-Saat’ sounds similar to ‘Naushad’!

The iconic RCB trio of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Faf du Plessis is collectively known by a three-letter nickname, as a tribute to a blockbuster hit from the world of entertainment whose first instalment came in 2018, and an even more famous successor came in 2022. What is this 3-letter nickname?

KGF – Kohli, Glenn, Faf!!!