The last three balls of the match went flying for swashbuckling sixes; the crowd erupted with cheers and thronged the field, bringing Uniworld Premiere League (UPL) XI to a high-octane finish.

Held in association with The Telegraph Salt Lake, the 11th edition of the tournament took place over 24 days. It had 38 teams and 550 players — all residents of Uniworld City — playing some 100 matches. Players were divided into 20 men’s teams, three women’s teams, four junior and six sub-junior teams. There were also two teams of super seniors, aged above 55 years, and three toddler teams.

Rajveer Jaware Patil winning the Most Valuable Player in the sub-junior category

Young guns

The kids recalled their journey over the past month with ear-to-ear grins.

“We began by losing our first two games and were in a do-or-die situation as we would have to win all our remaining games if we were to qualify to the next round,” said Ayushman Dhara, a Class VIII student and captain of Destroyers. “Then our teammate Aarjav Jain shook us up and said that since we had nothing more to lose, we might as well get on the field and enjoy. That clicked, and today we beat Stormers in the final to lift the trophy.”

Stormers had been banking heavily on star batsmen Adrish Santra and Samir Raj, but the former was run out, and Samir was caught by Garv Pareek off the bowling of Ayushman.

Amigos pose with their trophies

The match ended with Ayshman sending the ball for a six. And then he got emotional. “This is my first UPL victory as captain, and it has come after a difficult period for me. My father passed away in an accident last year, and I dedicate this victory to him,” said the boy.

Rajveer Jaware Patil led the Kohli Kings to a win against the Wall Breakers in the sub-junior category, and Kushal Tantia of the Destroyers captured the mood of all the young players. “Kal se padhna padega!” he laughed.

Meghna Gandhe and Mamta Sarda at the commentary box for the women’s final.

One player the tournament sorely missed was Shyla Senapati, a Class IX student, who also plays cricket for Bengal under-15. “I’ve played in UPL before — last year I won player of the tournament (women) — but this year I had to miss it as the games were clashing with some Bengal matches,” said the teenager watching from the sidelines.

Ladies’ special

The women’s trophy was lifted by Minions, captained by Anushree Singha Roy, who beat Scorpions, captained by Mamta Baid.

“Our team peaked in the final with our tight fielding, that curtailed the opponents’ runs,” said vice-captain and wicket-keeper Annesa Ganguly, who was returning to UPL after a two-year injury break. “I sprained my ankle again at the very first game’s warm-up this time. I had to sit out for one match.”

Teenager Dhrishti Khatri, who won best “bat-women” of the tournament

Watching the women’s final intently were Mamta Sarda and Meghna Gandhe. “We are the commentators,” Mamta explained, although their voices weren’t broadcast over loudspeakers. “We didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, so our commentary goes straight to the YouTube live stream. Usually, Mamta Baid and I handle the booth, but since she’s playing today, Meghna has stepped in.”

The commentary team was a full house: teenagers Aditya Mishra and Yuvraj Singh covered the junior matches, while Sunil Khatri led a rotation of voices for the men’s games. The streaming proved to be a massive hit with relatives and traveling residents, though one resident currently in China lamented missing out on the action as YouTube is blocked there.

Men’s diamond trophy finalists Amigos and Knights assemble before the match

Several unsung heroes kept the tournament running, too. Kuldeep Gharwal managed the digital media, designing eye-catching posters for each match day. Uniworld has partnered with The Telegraph Salt Lake to promote the reading habit among the youth, and Aditya Roy Chowdhury played a key role in this, leading the juniors to read papers before their matches.

Action-packed

This year, the organisers introduced the concept of gold and diamond categories for men. “Some players here are elite, having played or even currently playing at professional levels. Others who love cricket but aren’t at a level to compete with the aforesaid would find the matches one-sided. Spectators too wouldn’t want to come for these games,” said Manish Upadhyay, president of New Town Uniworld Residents’ Sports Association. Manish himself has played U-16 nationals, U-22 Karnataka, and then in Karnataka Premiere League.

So out of the 20 men’s teams, the toppers played one another in the diamond category and the rest in gold. Warriors beat Strikers to win the Gold Cup. “This was our ninth final out of the last 11 years of this tournament,” said Baljit Singh of Warriors. His friend Salil Yagnicks’s team 1207 lost to Amigos in the quarter finals, but could only sing praises for the rising standard of the tournament. “Till a couple of years ago, just two or three teams would be formidable, but this time 14 teams were top-notch,” Salil said. He and Baljit play for Siam Parrots in Bangkok Cricket League.

Anyone following UPL down the years would have bet on Amigos to bag the diamond trophy as the team had won the last two years, and many were expecting them to complete a hattrick this time.

Knights won the toss and sent Abhishek Ganguly and Arnav Sengupta to open. But their regular captain Srijit Aon was indisposed. “In the semi final yesterday, I ran into my teammate Neelabh Banerjee while fielding. I’ve torn a ligament and am resting it out today,” said Srijit, moving about with a walker. “Vice-captain Md Tousef is doing my job today, and we have a great lineup with the likes of Goutam Dutta, who has played Ranji Trophy for Assam, and Abhishek Raman, who has played for Bengal.”

A Minions player bowls to a Scorpion batter

Knights managed to put runs on the board early but soon began losing wickets, eventually choking in the death overs to finish at 133/9. Amigos stepped up to the crease, confident they were chasing a reachable target. “I was hoping for some loose balls, but the Knights were bowling very well,” said Manish, who came to bat one down.

“I knew the boundaries and sixes would come, but my priority was to stay at the crease,” Manish added. He went on to build a steady partnership with Dilip Sharma, but after the sixth over, wickets began to tumble. Eventually, they needed 23 runs from seven balls, and in a dream finish, Manish struck the final three balls of the match for sixes to seal the victory.

While the past month saw tears from children when their dad’s teams were knocked out, the finals proved that everyone was a winner. In a display of true sportsmanship, the Knights embraced the Amigos for their victory. Amigos celebrated by posing for photos, holding up three fingers to signify their third consecutive championship.

“We have been unbeaten for three years — 21 matches in total,” smiled captain Dilip. “But we try not to get complacent. The Knights had a solid batting lineup, but our team chemistry is our secret weapon. More than skill, what you need to win is jigar, and we have plenty of it.”

The best batsman of the tournament award went to Arnab Sengupta of Knights, best bowler Dheer Jain of Amigos, best wicket keeper Pranava Joshi of Amigos, and most valuable player to Manish of Amigos.

But there was no time to rest on laurels. “We have already started the countdown for next year’s UPL,” smiled Riyaz Ahmed of Strikers. “The tournament may be for a month, but we plan and train for it the whole year. These days every time we see any new face in the neighbourhood, before hi or hello we ask if they play cricket.”

Brinda Sarkar