Mysore: Saturday morning saw a clash of collegiate titans from India in a bid to seal a spot at the finals of Red Bull College Cricket World Series Championship. The competition that originally began with 57 colleges from 12 cities narrowed down to the final two, Rizvi College (Mumbai) and DAV College (Chandigarh). After a match well played by both teams, DAV College (Chandigarh) emerged victorious and was crowned the champions of Red Bull College Cricket in India. The winning Indian team will now fight it out with teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, South Africa, Australia, and Bangladesh in Bangalore, in a T20 format for the coveted title of the Red Bull College Cricket World Series Champion.
Commenting on the India finals, Ajay Jadeja, Commentator and former Indian team player who was also present for the match said, “It’s great to see good quality cricket at college level being supported. These athletes are talented and are getting an international platform to showcase their talent. A tournament like this is a great opportunity for young talent and acts as a milestone to play for the Indian team, in the future. I am looking forward to the world finals now”.
The match began with DAV College (Chandigarh) winning the toss and electing to field first. The initial two wickets fell in the first four overs at just 25 runs leaving the Rizvi College team quite tense. However the momentum picked up when Sumit Ghandijaankar took to the bat and scored 34 runs in just 17 balls hitting 4 four’s and 1 six. Problems emerged when Sumit too was stumped out by star bowler Manish Shrivastav from the DAV Chandigarh team. By the end of the first innings Rizvi College (Mumbai) ended up scoring 152 runs at the loss of 7 wickets.
In the second innings of the match the lads from DAV College Chandigarh marched onto the field with a determination to win the Red Bull College Cricket India finals. They played a spectacular innings from the very start with Jaskaran Sohi scoring 35 runs in just 27 balls. His 2 four’s and 1 six set the momentum for the game leaving the audience cheering at every hit. However his spell was put to an end by Rizvi College’s star bowler Siddesh Kinlekar in the 10th over. Siddesh bowled very well and went ahead to dismiss two other key players from the DAV team. As the end came nearer, the tension amongst the crowd and the teams built up as both the teams put forward their best efforts to win the championship.
However in the very last over the lads from DAV Chandigarh picked up speed and scored 156 runs winning their team the crown of India’s best College team.
The College Cricket Series was announced in October last year by Red Bull athlete and leading Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir. The series started off as an inter-college competition across 12 cities in India and its final leg ended with the final 12 teams heading to Mysore for the final knockout earlier this week leading to the national finals held this morning. The cricket series involving colleges from across the globe was started with an aim to provide budding collegiate cricketers an opportunity to perform at an international level and get an opportunity to train under the best in the field.
Five outstanding players will also be selected from Red Bull College Cricket India finals for the development squad of the IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders. Red Bull Athlete and KKR’s captain, Gautam Gambhir is looking forward to the Red Bull College Cricket Player Exchange Program and believes, “Red Bull College Cricket is a great launch pad for college cricket. Given the quality I saw last year, I am sure there are plenty of careers which we will be able to give wings to.”