Cricket arouses great deal of excitement in all Indians, whether it be playing a game on the street, following a test match or even watching the Bollywood version in Lagaan. The volunteers of India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF) decided to put this passion to good use and raise funds while having a great time. Thus while the world was admiring the soccer athletes from Brazil and Germany, we were following our New England cricketers. More than 50 teams participated in the tournament, which culminated in an exciting final in which UNH (University of New Hampshire) Team defeated the Nashua Nukes.

When the prospect of a cricket tournament came to our attention, the team I am a part of was very excited. It gave a new dimension to our game and even though we lost we had a wonderful time. I was able to put my bowling skills to a real test. The games were played on Mitre grounds.

Tournaments began on June 8th and ended on June 23rd when the following awards were presented.

Best All-Rounder : Raj Gorla (UNH) [102 runs in 5 inngs, 7 wkts in 5 inngs]
Best Bowler : Shravankumar Surineni (UNH) [9 wkts in 5 inngs]
Best Batsman : Rohit Joshi (UML) [91 rums in 4 inngs]

Outstanding Batting performance :

Prashanth (Circle) [ 42 runs in a single inngs]
Amit Johry (Sun MIcro) [ 42 runs in a single inngs]

Outstanding Bowling Performance :
Kalyan V (NH Sixers) [5 wickets in a single inngs (including a Hattrick)]
Rafiiq (Lord Baron) [5 wickets in a single inngs (including a Hattrick)]

More than 330 players who played in the tournament plus a large section of cheering spectators, through their enthusiasm, clearly showed that they cared for IDRF's cause. While some played for nostalgia, some really put their heart and soul into the games. All matches were played in a great fun environment while maintaining a competitive spirit. IDRF volunteers did an excellent job in keeping up with the schedule and completing all the matches in spite of unprecedented increase in the number of teams and inclement weather conditions. They also provided the players and spectators with delicious snacks for nominal costs.

IDRF will send all the proceeds (about $5,000) from this year's tournament to Ekalavya Ashram, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), working for integral development of tribal children in the district of Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh. IDRF is a well-established, all voluntary, non-profit charity organization based in USA. IDRF has no administrative overhead and thus applies 100% of all contributions to the needy.

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