With the phenomenon that is T-20 cricket, going on in full
swing in the cricket world, and in India in particular, Sikkim was not to be
left behind. The state was hosting the annual Sikkim T-20 cricket tournament
in the month of April-May 2012. The tournament, coinciding with the IPL 5, was
being held at the Mining cricket ground at Rangpo, Sikkim, by the Alpine
Sporting Club of Gangtok, under the aegis of Sikkim Cricket Association
(SCA).
The SMIMS team was a well balanced one, and after practicing for around two weeks, was in top notch form. Right from selection trials, to the time leading up to the first match, there was a hunger within the team to do well. There were players from the MBBS, M.Sc and post graduate (MD) courses as well a couple of Junior Residents from the hospital.
The first match was against the Rangpo Royals. The opening match, is always a tough one for any team, and this one was right in the opposition’s backyard! After winning the toss, we chose to bat first. The team lost a couple of early wickets, to resemble what was soon looking like a batting order collapse. But with some sensible batting from Dr. Swarup Patnaik (25 in 10 balls), Dr. Tashi (26) and myself (47), we managed to redeem ourselves to a respectable total of 103/3 in 15 overs (the match being shortened due to rain). After that, it was SMIMS all the way, as the team easily defended the score by restricting the opposition to 72/8 in their alloted 15 overs.
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| Me, out in the middle for the toss. |
With the first match out of the way, the team was now in 'high confidence mode'. The second match was against Lal Bazar (Gangtok). After
winning the toss, SMIMS scored 134/3 with a super knock of 52 (retired)from Dr. Akash Hora, who then went on to to shine with the ball as well, taking 3 wickets and also affecting a runout, in the course of bowling Lal Bazar out for a paltry 103 runs in 20
overs.
The quarter -final was against a tough team, the Sikkim Armed Police’s Black Eagles, who had defeated the defending champions Alpine Sporting Club in their previous round, and it promised to be a thrilling encounter. Living up to the billing, it indeed turned out to be a very evenly contested match, and also a very interesting one. My winning the toss for the third time in a row, turned out to be lucky, as the team put up a challenging score of 131/6 in 20 overs with contributions from almost every batsman. The notable scorers were Dr. Tashi (45*) and Saurav Sharma (24). The team was in a spot of bother in the middle of the innings, but Saurav bailed us out with some quick and lusty hitting which included 3 huge shots over the boundary for sixers. The Black Eagles, in their turn, also managed to score exactly 131 runs in their 20 overs, losing nine wickets, and with 15 of those runs coming in the very last over bowled by Dr. Zimba. Suddenly there was a tie on our hands! Even after 40 exhausting overs of top quality cricket in the gruelling heat, there was absolutely nothing separating the two teams.
So it was down to the Super Over, a new rule in cricket introduced only the previous year by the ICC. In the Super Over, each team gets only one over to bat. They get to nominate three batsmen each; if they lose two wickets they are all out. The team which scores the most number of runs in that one over wins. For all practical purposes, the one thing it can be compared to is a "penalty shootout" in football.
We won the toss once again, but this time, I put in the policemen in to bat first as I thought chasing would be a better option. The bowler who came on for SMIMS was Dr. Akash Hora, who was just the kind of bowler for this kind of situation, bowling his medium fast spinners. After a wonderful over of bowling, the Black Eagles were restricted to a score of only 3 for 2 wickets in their alloted over. So with only 4 runs required for us to win off 6 balls, in went Saurav and Nazrul Isalm. They easily knocked off the required runs in just 3 balls.
The feeling all around after those runs were scored was unbelievable. Words would simply not do it justice. Apart from it being the match of the tournament, for the players, it was the match of a lifetime. So a fitting end to a thriller of a match.
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| Nazrul trying to hit it in the Super Over. The tension on the opponents face is clear. |
The semi-final was against the Tadong Higher Secondary School. Playing against school boys, it was important not to get carried away and become complacent. Thankfully that did not happen and after winning the toss yet again, we put up a score of 166/7 in 20 overs, the highest in the tournament so far. Important contributions were from Dr. Tashi (32), Nazrul (20), Arunesh Gupta (23) and myself (20). After that, it turned out to be like some bowling practice for SMIMS as we bundled out the opposition cheaply and won the match by 63 runs.
The time leading up to the final was an interesting one for the team. The batsmen were hitting the ball well, right off the middle of their bats, the bowlers were taking wickets at the right times and the fielding was improving with every match. Dr. Tashi was the leading scorer of the tournament and was in the running for the Man of the Series award. With the ball, Dr. Hora and Dr. Zimba were among the highest wicket takers.
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| The legendary SMIMS team huddle. |
In the final, after losing the toss for the first time in the tournament, we were put into bat by the the Sikkim state team (veterans). We were off to a good start, with Arunesh scoring a quickfire 23. But after that, the much more experienced Sikkim veterans tightened the screws and prompted a batting order collapse from SMIMS for the first time in the tournament. At the end of the innings the scoreboard was a dismal sight indeed – “SMIMS – 77/10 in 17.5 overs”.
Even after the bad batting display' the players took to the field with courage and determination. But as it happened, it was not to be our day. The Sikkim veterans scored the required runs in 9 overs losing just 4 wickets. A total anti-climax ending (for our team) to a fabulous tournament.
The prizes and the runners-up trophy were handed over to the team by Mr. Tika Rama Subba, the chief guest and secretary of the SCA.
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| The playing lineups of both the finalist teams after the match waiting for the prize distribution. Background shows the beautiful cricket ground at Rangpo, Sikkim. |
For the team and the (magnificently vociferous) fans (who went along to support the team in every match), it was an amazing season of cricket.For some players it was their last tournament, for some it was their first. But the experience gained was invaluable for everyone. From the practice sessions to the after match team dinners, from the leg pulling to the team huddles, the bond that developed between the players was a strong one. It was the revival of cricket in SMIMS. Now there is only looking to better things in the future.
The SMIMS team in batting order:
Arunesh Gupta (WK)(MBBS 2009)
Dr. Akash Hora(MBBS 2007)
Devraj Sarma (Captain)(MBBS 2008)
Dr. Tashi Topden Lepcha (Resident)
Dr. Swarup Patnaik (MD Medicine 2011)
Nazrul Islam (MBBS 2008)
Saurav Sharma (MBBS 2011)
Akshay Kantha (MBBS 2011)
Dr. Karma Zimba (Resident)
Amit Saxena (MBBS 2007)
Vivek Mishra (M.Sc. 2010)
Amrit (M.Sc. 2011)
Pallav Kumar (MBBS 2011)
Souradeep Pal (MBBS 2011)
Shankar (SMIMS Mess)
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| With Arunesh Gupta (left) and Akash Hora (right). Akshay Kantha in the background. |
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| With Dr. Swarup Patnaik (left) and Pushkar (Center) |
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| The players and fans celebrate after the final. |
