Cricmania 2011

Along with the hysteria/hoopla/hullabaloo surrounding the Cricket World Cup which saw India thrash the most indomitable teams, Cricmania – IIT Bombay was launched for the first time. They could not have chosen a more apt time, as the World Cup frenzy coupled with the  zeal for cricket in students, made it a resounding success.

This novel idea was the brainchild of Kapil Dubey, Sagar Sen and Prateek Sondule to provide a platform to the Cricket enthusiasts of the institute to pursue their passion. Furthermore, with 9 inter-IIT players passing out this year, it provided an ideal opportunity to spot the stars of the future, and mould and mentor them so that they take over the mantle. This also furnished the promising players with vital match experience, thereby improving their temperament and sharpening their skills.

Origin of the idea:

The idea was conceived around October 2010, born out of a need to give cricket players as big a platform in the Institute as possible, thus catering to needs of the people to play the game in its pure and primal spirit.  Another aim was to project cricket as a sport which will help increase interaction between UGs and PGs, seniors and juniors and people from different hostels. This also ensured a large number of people to choose from and in a more efficient manner, as Inter IIT trials on the basis of just a few overs in the nets is often inadequate for the selection.

For the students having potential and the will to go all the way from the very beginning, this initiative helped them in learning the sport better by the introduction of icon players and appointment of senior players as captains who acted as mentors to the players of their team and assisted them in understanding the finer nuances of the game. It inculcated within them the virtues of team spirit, sportsmanship, perseverance and respect for fellow men through the game of cricket.

Organisers:

As is the norm with any event being conducted for the first time, there were plenty of hurdles to overcome. The extremely tight sports GC schedule turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it led to matches taking place under lights, with a trial match being held between the passing out seniors and the new inter-IIT squad to check the adequacy of lights. White balls were used for the first time this tournament, along with black pads for the batsmen for obvious reasons. The core committee, comprising of Vivek Shivade, Saransh Mahajan, Mayur Nawal, Sagar Sen, Kapil Dubey and Prateek Sondule was constituted to ensure smooth organization, and it left no stone unturned in making the event a success. High quality equipment was purchased, and the team struck a commendable deal with Pepsi to finance the event. The PG calendar was revised with the nominee to ensure that there were no clashes with PG sports. Furthermore, they adopted the concept of supersubs to encourage maximum participation.

Unlike general perception, the professors of our institute are passionate followers of cricket and this was evidenced by the role they played in making this event a success. The keenly contested encounters were followed with great interest by not only the enthusiastic student  community but also the professors with Professor Pandale, the Deputy Director, Professor Gopalan (DoSA) and Professor Paramanand (Chairman, Sports) providing their unconditional support and guidance to the event. The organizing committee had the helping hand of Dr. S.S Yadav, Dr B.B. Appaji, Edwin Sir and Jha Sir in ensuring that the field and the lights were in perfect condition at play time. Haate Sir was a friend and a mentor to the organizing committee, and also officiated some matches. The team was backed by our illustrious alumni Rajesh Behera, Vijay Meena and Shailendra Jain.

Future of the Event :

Even though the event lived up to the expectations of all the fans and players and fulfilled all the motives it was conceived for, there still remains a lot of scope for improvement.  Given the tight schedule and limited resources this time, the  next edition can involve more matches, better equipment and more enthusiasm. The standard set by Cricmania 2011 is very high and an even more dedicated and enthusiastic team would be required to make the 2012 edition a bigger hit. But that doesn’t threaten to be an issue, for as long as the spirit of cricket is alive and kicking in the Institute, Cricmania will flourish and so will the game.

Fast Facts:

• 8 teams on IPL format- Chennai Super Kings (CSK),Deccan Chargers (DC), Delhi Daredevils(DD), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Rajasthan Royals (RR)
• Innings of 15 overs each
• The event saw the participation of 280 students
• Concept of ‘Icon players’ to manage as well as act as coaches and mentors to the cricket learning enthusiasts : KKR (Vivek Shivade), KXIP (Shainki Bagga), DC (Sanjay Meena), DD (Saransh Mahajan), CSK (D.Sudarshan), RR (Rishipal Deora), RCB (Kartik Dalal), MI (Amogh Patkar)
• 19 matches were held, spread across a span of one month

Statistics:

• Highest Individual Score: D.Sudarshan 68(52) CSK against DC
• Best Bowling performance: Sher Singh Yadav – 3 overs, 12 runs, 4 wickets in the finals
• Fastest Fifty: Rishipal Singh Deora (30 balls)
• Highest Score by a team:  155 by RR against KKR
• Lowest Score by a team: 69 by RR  against KXIP

Awards:

• Winners: Kings XI Punjab
• Runners up: Royal Challengers Bangalore
• Man of the series: Mayur Nawal, for scoring a total of 135 runs and taking 7 wickets
• Most promising player (for the most talented non Inter-IIT player): Shailendra Saraf (DD) – 129 runs in 5 matches with 3 wickets and 3 run outs
• Best batsman: Shainky Bagga for being the highest scorer of the tournament, scoring a total of 142 runs
• Best bowler: Vincy Gupta (freshman) for taking 14 wickets at an economy of 5 runs per over
• Best Wicketkeeper: Manaskant Desai(P.G.)
• Emerging freshman batsman: Devansh Chawla. He scored a total of 101 runs
• Emerging freshman bowler: Vincy Gupta (Also, the best bowler )
• Best manager: B. Avinash