March 3: They had boarded the flight from Assam for the Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with unenviable tags — underdogs, minnows and what-have-you.

After over two weeks of hard-fought battles, the Assam cricket team is ready to return with an enviable tag — tigers, may be, even if they are from the land of the rhino? And even if they tripped at the final hurdle, losing to Delhi in the final today.

Their exploits in Jharkhand and then in Vishakhapatnam on their way to the final — first time ever in a senior national tournament — have given the people of the state a joy that they have not known for quite some time.

After all, what joy can there be in the regular slaying of rhinos, the state’s pride, while their appointed protectors appear to be in deep, blissful slumber?

What joy can there be when a score of people are killed in police firing and clashes because some people had not done their homework well enough to prevent the tragedy?

Or, how can there be joy when much of the day and night is spent without power?

Abu Nechim and company have given the state enough reasons to hope and dream. So what if they lost in the final.

They did make mincemeat of heavyweight Mumbai and the more-fancied Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand as they went from strength to strength, didn’t they?

What stood out in Assam’s campaign for the coveted trophy and gave hope for the future was the number of hands raised every time the team needed it.

So, if Gokul Sharma did his bit both with the willow and the white ball through the tournament and Abu Nechim his part, with his astute captaincy, Sibsankar Roy, Pallav Das and Tarjinder Singh batted from under their skins while Pritam Das and Arup Das bowled their hearts out. Collectively, each and every member put a premium on runs when they fielded.

It should be a matter of great pride that of the eight top wicket-takers in the tournament till before today’s final, four were from Assam.

“This is definitely a great moment for the state, which has been in the news all for the wrong reasons. There was always an effort to establish ourselves, but these youngsters have succeeded in doing so,” said former state Ranji skipper Syed Zakaria Zuffri, who was a part of the Hyderabad Heroes team that lifted the first Indian Cricket League title and also the CEO of Bangladesh Premier League.

“It is a confidence builder. To take it to the next level, they have a bigger responsibility to shoulder in the coming month in the Deodhar Trophy and the T20 tournaments. The Assam Cricket Association will also have to play its role now by ensuring that the performers make it to the zonal squad and also see that the players are fielded in the playing XIs on home turf as well,” he added.

It would be a travesty of justice, though, if the contribution of the support team, which plays such a crucial role in modern cricket, is not acknowledged.

There were chief coach Subrajit Saikia and fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh who together made the team battle-ready.

Abu Nechim has rightly pointed to the mental toughness camp conducted by the Assam Cricket Academy right at the beginning of the grooming process mid-last year as being a contributing factor in the team’s consistent performance.

It was more the mind that has let Assam down over the years and hence this is another battle won. Making winning a habit is yet another battle waiting to be won, though.

The boys have fought hard. They now deserve to party harder.

Thank you, boys, for the joy.