The game of Cricket has been tightly woven into the fabric of Indian life, ever since it was introduced there in the days of the British Raj. This fact was evident at the Fore River Club in Quincy, MA where several teams, spectators and organizers congregated for the inaugural Vrindhavan Preservation Society (VPS) Cricket Tournament. The championship match of this tournament, played on the 19th of July was a fitting climax for this astoundingly successful event.

The proceedings commenced with all present standing in attention to the Indian National anthem. The cloudy morning developed into a hot muggy day with an occasional breeze. While the pitch favored stroke making, the slow outfield made scoring boundaries very difficult.

It was the clash of the Titans when Team Lagaan took on the Boston Blue Sox (BBS) team for the championship match. Both outstanding teams had earned their berths to the finals with impressive wins in previous matches.

The BBS team had stormed into the finals, undefeated in their earlier matches. They had impressive wins over Team Nirvana in their qualifying match and Team Strikers in their semi final match.

Team Lagaan, however had to fight harder battles to get to the finals. After loosing their first qualifying match in a thriller to Team Strikers, the Lagaan team convincingly defeated Team Nirvana in their second qualifier to reserve themselves a semi final berth. In the semi finals, Team Lagaan team defeated the formidable Team Delhi to ensure their place in the finals.

The finals were set to 20 overs per team and like all the other matches in the tournament were played with hard tennis balls. Skipper Mustafa Taj of BBS won the toss and elected to field.

The Lagaan team looked like it was in trouble early in the innings, when Subash of BBS claimed two wickets in the fourth over. Batsmen Kunal (22) and Rajesh (15) steadied the innings taking the Lagaan score to 63. Balaji of Lagaan fortified this score with a quick 23 off 21 balls. However, the BBS team managed to dismiss the entire Lagaan team for 95 in 19.4 overs. For BBS, Subash took two wickets, Satvir claimed 4 wickets and Hari claimed 1 wicket.

The match still seemed evenly poised. The Lagaan team was known for its formidable bowlers while the BBS batsmen had displayed spectacular talents in previous matches. The BBS team had lost a total of just one wicket in their two earlier matches.

The Lagaan restricted their bowling to the offside, making it hard for the BBS team to score runs. This strategy would pay rich dividends. The mounting pressure would prove too much even for the able batsmen of BBS. The BBS team was soon dismissed for 55 in the 15th over. For the Lagaan team, Rohit, Rajat and Balaji claimed 2 wickets each. Rajesh and Kunal claimed a single wicket. For BBS Shaswath scored 12 and Subash scored 11.

With this resounding win, team Lagaan, (reminiscent of the movie of the same name) emerged as the undisputed winner of the VPS tournament. This was followed by the prize distribution ceremony. Sagar Banaso, captain of the winning team, Lagaan and the Mustafa Taj captain of the runner up, BBS were presented trophies. Balaji was aptly christened the ‘man of the match’.

This event would not have been successful if not for the contributions from numerous volunteers, the participating teams and the spectators. Chetan Anand, one of the umpires deserves special mention for his dedication and for braving the scorching heat for every match of the tournament. Many members of VPS worked untiringly wearing several hats, as commentators, organizers, tournament promoters and makeshift umpires displaying a high level of professionalism. In particular, Nikhil Wadhwa, chairperson of the VPS gaming committee and VPS President, Keshav Shukla were instrumental in organizing and promoting this event. The camaraderie displayed by participating teams and the enthusiasm of the spectators throughout this tournament was contagious. They have proved that Cricket in the New England area is indeed here to stay. The VPS Tournament in particular has attracted more wide spread interest in this area and promises to be even bigger and better next year. Registration for next year’s matches has already begun.

For more details, please contact:
Nikhil Wadhwa by phone at 781-608-0879 or 508-559-2071 or Email nikpriya@hotmail.com.

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