The deafening sound of cheer and claps is sure to make any cricket enthusiast feel nostalgic about many international matches played here. At the ongoing Twenty-20 Corporate Cricket Tournament organised by Faza Foundation and Mahdi Bagh Youth Club (MBYC) at Port Stadium, emotions soared high as 16 teams locked horns with each other to play some competitive cricket.
In the first edition of the tournament, teams were battling out for top honours of Rs 1 lakh cash prize and a stunning winners’ trophy while the runners up will get Rs 50,000 cash prize. The 16 participating teams were VPC Sports Club, BNI Vizag, NAV Ship, Waltair Club Raiders, RVR Titans, Varun Gladiators, WNS Master Blaster, WNS Warriors, Vihar Super Kings, Eastern Naval Command Cricket Team, Vizag Shipping Warriors, Vaibhav XI, HPCL/VR Cricket Team, VCTPL, Brandix and Alwar Das Group.
The tournament is a fund raising event wherein the proceeds from the match would go to Faza Foundation for helping it to take up charity work such as medical aid, welfare for women and children and education for the needy child. An initiative of the members of MBYC, the tournament also seeks to create a cricketing culture in the city by making it an annual event.
“Various sectors have their own cricket activities. But we wanted to create a common platform where all the corporates can get together to play competitive cricket. This fund-raising cricket tournament will be a yearly event to raise funds for Faza Foundation,” says Sabah Aarif, a member of MBYC.
While many matches saw nail-biting finishes, it was remarkable to see a sense of enjoyment and camaraderie that prevailed in the respective team camps even in matches that were one-sided.
“The tournament has given organisations like us a chance to wake up from our slumber and rub shoulders with professionals in first-class playing conditions. While the objective was fun, it also meant playing a disciplined game with intent and strategy. We had put together a team of individuals from our firm in a short period and managed to learn a trick or two this year with the aim of doing better in the next edition,” says Rana Uppalapati of Titan Industries.
For many like Rana, the early-morning practice sessions not only helped in improving the physical fitness of employees but also in building team spirit.
R. Satish of Vaibhav Group, feels that this is a great platform for honing young cricket talents. “If Vizag can have this every year, many more corporates will come up to support the tournament and stand up for the underlining social cause,” he adds.
Tournaments like these are also seen as an effective team-building exercise by companies. “It facilitates a healthy interaction between colleagues and nurtures the quality of team-spirit. A game like cricket, especially, needs a team work which is quite similar to the functioning of a corporate firm. Every player has a critical role to play,” says Seshagiri Mantri of Vihar Hospitality Group
Saturday will see two quarter final matches between Vizag Shipping Warriors and Nav Ship and the second match between Waltair Club Raiders and Eastern Naval Command. The semi final match will be held on Sunday and finals of this year’s tournament will be on Monday.
