News & Pics: Prem Almeida
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SB)
Udupi, Dec 18: The Team Brahmavar of Holy Family Church Brahmavar, the ever formidable and one of the strongest cricket teams of the region, recently again proved that they are still the best in the business as they topped the tables and won the Udupi region inter-parish cricket tournament with utmost ease.
The team which boasts of untiring old horses who have been the backbone of parish team for long and equally talented and impressive youngsters, almost had a cakewalk as they mauled the opposition quite ruthlessly with some power packed performances throughout the tourney.
The tournament was held at the Mount Rosary church premises and a total of 12 teams participated. The Brahmavar team which eased through the league matches, winning them by handsome margin, was the favourite at the knock-out stage. They were up against the hosts Mount Rosary ‘A’ team which was one of the strongest teams in the fray.
Brahmavar team displayed a total team performance to win the match. But upcoming Roshan Furtado was the star of the match. His all-round stroke play left the opponents in disarray and was deservingly awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his brilliant performance.
The semi-finals was a lop-sided affair as Brahmavar men defeated the hapless Udupi team with a huge margin. Batting first Team Brahmavar scored a mammoth 94 runs in just 6 overs with the powerfully-built Joel Almeida carting the clueless Udupi bowlers all over the park with utter disdain. Joel, fondly known in Brahmavar circles as Inzy of Brahmavar was literally unstoppable as one of his best knocks gave the cushion to Brahmavar bowlers to restrict the opponents who just about managed to get through the half way mark.
The finals was a clash of titans as two arch rivals Team Brahmavar and Milagres Kallianpur fought tooth and nail to lay hands on the coveted trophy. But it was Brahmavar which emerged winners with scintillating batting and bowling display. The finals though belonged to two Team Brahmavar players, Premlal Almeida and Jason Suares who shined with bat and bowl, respectively.
Chasing a modest total of 50 set by Team Milagres, Team Brahmavar was given an electrifying start as evergreen Premlal smashed the very first ball of the match over the ropes into the crowds leaving the Milagres cricketers shell-shocked. It was a telling blow right at the beginning and Premlal continued to pummel the bowlers as he steered the innings beautifully with some delightful stroke play and ensured that trophy was in the kitty of the best team of the region.
Earlier Team Brahmavar restricted the impressive Milagres batting line-up to modest 50 runs, thanks to fine bowling display by Jason Suares. The experienced Milagres batsmen were often caught on wrong foot as Jason’s impeccable line and length left them with little choice than to surrender meekly. Jason was Brahmavar’s star throughout the tournament with the ball along with old horses Rueben Almeida and Naveen Lewis who too were persistent with their ever penetrating wicket-to-wicket bowling.
On the batting front along with Roshan, Joel and Premlal young Sunil Rodrigues proved his mettle with some power hitting. This is a sweet victory for Team Brahmavar which has always been one of the best teams around and as always made the Holy Family parish proud again.