Xian Jiaotong University is well known for its diverse student body. Aside from academics, it is very common to see students partake in various extracurricular activities during their free time. One of them being Cricket, which can be seen played mostly by Indian and Pakistani students weekly around our Campus. As the International Medical Ambassadors Association(IMAA), we were quite ardent to organize a cricket tournament for our fellow Jiaoda mates! The Organizers in charge of this event were Imran Adam, Ryan Richards, Djovensky Gateau, Naqash Nasir, Raissa Cabral, Fawaz al Smadi, Jeff Ghanem, Husna Hussein, Sarah Nasser, and myself, Jothy Mahindran.
We had a total of 6 teams that registered; 3 teams were from our medical campus and 2 teams from the main campus. With 11 – 13 people per team, and following One Day International rules with 8 overs, the tournament was set for the 5thand 6thof April. Team members were pleased to be provided with team jerseys and cricket themed wristbands. Of the six teams, we have CSK in yellow jersey, Knight Riders in black, Sultan Zalmi in red, XJTU Cricket Club in dark blue, Vikings in light blue and Kings 11 Xian in their own attires. Each match was vehement as players had their heart and soul in batting, protecting their wickets, bowling and scoring runs. The crowd roared when teams scored a 6, hit the opponents wickets or caught a ball which kicked out a batsman. Who knew Jiaoda members could be so passionate in watching cricket? I suppose this event revealed some cricket fanatics!
Regardless of the dreary weather on the 5th morning, organizers were marking the girls’ dorm field for boundaries and briefing team captains about the rules and regulations. As the sun came out a little, we were set to begin our first match – Knight Riders versus XJTU Cricket Club. A total of 6 group matches were played that day, where each team was given the opportunity to play twice with different opposing teams. There was definitely tension in the air as the teams tried their best to score. What an exhilarating event it was! One team which the crowd believed should be credited was the CSKs who were known for their fair play in the tournament. Known as a gentlemen sport, but quite capable of getting rough!
Knight Riders were ecstatic to enter the semi-finals that they kept shouting in hindi “Chak de pattey!” which translates to “Rock on, Friend!” The other three teams that also entered the semi-finals were Kings 11 Xian, Sultan Zalmi and Vikings. Chak de pattey indeed!
The semi-finals and finals were held on the 6th of April. It wasn’t a shock to all of us that the two teams that qualified to the Finals were Sultan Zalmi and Vikings as they played ferociously with their batting and bowling skills to near perfection. Nearing the end of the tournament, it became a heated game as it was taken as the match between medical campus (Sultan Zalmi) and main campus (Vikings). No doubt the watchers were betting on the medical campus team to win! So, which team did you bet on? Which team was more likely to take the trophy home?
It was none other than our medical campus team, Sultan Zalmi! Victory was definitely in the air and as we were all in our celebratory mood, the organizers wrapped up the event with the closing ceremony; the segment of this event which everyone waited for! The runner up of the tournament was the Vikings team and each teammate obtained a silver medal. Third place falls for the team Kings 11 Xian and they each obtained the bronze medal.
As per tradition of the game, we also had prizes for the best captain, best bowler, best batsan and man of the match for this tournament which were given to individual players based on their scores noted by the umpires and score keeper.
After a few clicks of photographs and handshakes, and as the sun was starting to setting in, that was the end of the IMAA Cricket Tournament of 2018. We are indeed grateful for the participants and viewers to take part in this event; it wouldn’t have been astounding if it wasn’t for them. Our hopes as IMAA is to make the cricket tournament an annual event, since it gave us the insight on what most Jiaoda members are really passionate about. We are super stoked to see you all next year!
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