Sikh Sports Tournament Kicks Off With Cricket
UNIOIN CITY, CA
 As you drove
closer to Sea Breeze Park, Union City, you could feel the excitement
and even smell the celebration in the air as the Cricket Tournament
was about to kick off the 2007 Sikh Sports Tournament. Two big
banners fluttering in the air conveyed you the entire story in a
glimpse – gentlemen as the players are referred in the game of
cricket were about to start the match sponsored by Sikh Sports
Association of USA. The tournament was organized by Sarabjit Singh
Chadha and Anant Bir Singh two avid cricketers from Northern
California Cricket Association (NCCA).
Four teams –
Punjab 11, Khalsa 11, Warriors and SCC were playing in this
tournament. Mr. Harvinder Singh Dhaliwal, Chairman, Mr. Surinder
Singh, Vice Chairman, Mr. Harpal Singh Rana and Mr. Darshan Singh
Aujla were key parts of the inaugural ceremony. Mr. Surinder Singh
offered prayer to seek Waheguru’s blessing for the success of the
tournament. Mr. Dhaliwal reminded the teams to play fair, bring
accolades to Sikh Sports organization and enjoy the game. He handed
the ceremonial binder and Mr. Rana handed out the match ball to each
captain respectively. Mr. Surinder Singh bowled the first ball of
the tournament as he was cheered by large group of attendees.
In the first
20/20 match, Punjab
11 lead by Gurvinder Singh, won the toss and offered Warriors to bat
first who were lead by Gagan Singh Dhillion. Warriors started to
score runs quickly but also kept losing wickets at regular
intervals. They scored an impressive 104 runs in 19.2 overs before
getting all out. They started bowling with lots of enthusiasm but
were not able to capitalize on any opportunities. Punjab 11 kept
scoring runs at will and within 10.3 overs they achieved their
target with 8 wickets to spare.
The second match
was being played at Loren Eden Elementary School in Hayward, between
Khalsa 11 and Stanislaus Cricket Club (SCC). SCC lead by Sandeep
Singh Gill, won the toss and elected to bat first. They had a strong
batting side and started scoring runs at will all over the ground.
Khalsa 11 lead by Mandeep were determined to break the scoring
streak and continued to successfully change their bowlers to get the
wickets. The SCC scored a massive 160 runs in 20 overs. Khalsa 11
were determined to give a good fight and kept their focus on keeping
the scoreboard ticking with single and double while hitting the bad
balls outside the boundary. Cricket is funny game and anything is
possible on any given day. Although Khalsa 11 kept losing wickets at
the end they won the match by 1 wicket.
If you were at
Sea Breeze you would have wondered too why are kids from age 5 to 13
gathering at Sea Breeze. These kids were even more excited than the
adults as they were getting ready to participate in the Youth
Cricket Exhibition Match. Manpreet Singh Kohli and Preet Singh Rana
helped create two teams – Chak De Phatte and Fremont Desi. With some
basic instructions from the Punjab 11 players these kids were ready
for prime time.
Chak De Phatte
lead but Swaran started to bat on the main pitch at Sea Breeze. They
smacked the ball all over the field and even hit few sixes. The
team’s youngest player Manraj Singh, age 4 had a very good
partnership with Rubina Kaur as both took quick singles to bring the
total to 52. The Fremont Desi came back to bat after having kids
favorite lunch – pizza. They were lead by Karan who was not going to
give up easily. They were doing very well and it boiled down to
scoring 12 runs in the last over. On the first ball due to the
overthrow they scored 5 runs but at the end they needed 4 runs of
the last ball but were only successful in scoring 1 run. They may
have lost the game but they were still in high spirits and wanted to
play another match. These kids enjoyed the game so much that they
collected donation among themselves for Sikh Sport Association of
USA. Mr. Dhaliwal, Chairman was so moved by this gesture that he
offered organizers support to conduct training sessions for the kids
so that they can learn the sport and one day represent USA.
Mr. Dhaliwal
tossed the coin for the final match between Punjab 11 and Khalsa 11.
Punjab 11 won the toss and elected to bat. They lost their first
wicket quickly but then stabilized the situation by scoring runs all
over the ground. As Neeraj was going for the big hits, Amit quickly
scored his 50. Their partnership with the help from rest of the team
ended the inning at 140 runs in 20 overs. Khalsa 11 got off to a
good start but good bowling from Punjab
11 kept their run rate low. In the last five over Khalsa 11 needed
56 runs but a run out on the first ball and a stump out on the next
ball changed the ball game in Punjab
11’s favor. Khalsa 11 gave one big push in the 17th over
by scoring 15 runs but at the end it wasn’t enough and Punjab 11 won by
31 runs.
It was an
exciting match and almost the entire Sikh Sports Board of Directors
– Mr. Dhaliwal, Mr. Surinder Singh, Rajinderpal Singh Dhillon, Rana
R.S Kahlon, and Members Davinder Singh Bahia, Darshan Singh Aujla,
Lachman Singh Mangat were at the ground to witness the inaugural
match of 2007 Sikh Sport Tournament.
25
April, 2007
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