KOCHI: Tripunithura, the birth place of the one-day cricket tourney, is once again hooked to the game as the night long cricket carnival began on Sunday night at Government Boys’ High School Ground.
When cricket fans across the globe are watching the IPL on television, the youngsters of Tripunithura are losing themselves in the thrilling matches going on at the floodlit stadium.
‘‘This is the fifth Vidhyadharan Memorial Cricket Tournament and this year 44 teams from across the state have registered for the match,’’ said K T Saigal, secretary, DYFI Tripunithura block committee.
‘‘The matches are limited to eight overs each,’’ Saigal said. A total of 36 halogen lamps and six MH lamps are lighting up the spacious stadium during the match.
The exciting games begin at 7 p.m.
The event is also a chance for the youth and aspiring cricketers to watch experienced players at the game. The Pooja Knockout Cricket Tournament started by Kelappan Thampuran of Kochi royal family, who was an all rounder in cricket, at Palace Oval was the first ever one-day limited over cricket tournament.
The night cricket tournament that began in 2004 has turned out to be a crowd-puller over the years.
‘‘Last year 64 teams from all over Kerala participated in the match and we were forced to extend the duration of the tournament,’’ recalled Saigal. ‘‘This year the grand finale of the match is will be held on May 15,’’ he said.
As the overs are limited to eight for each team, the match often presents sparkling performance from the batsmen and fielders. A maximum of seven matches are played each night.
The last match is over by three in the morning. Interestingly, even without the gallery or any other facilities, one can feel real sportsman spirit as the people crowd the boundary line of the ground to watch the match.
The game had enjoyed immense popularity in Tripunithura during the time of the princes of Kochi royal family. The family added the spark to the cricket dreams of the entire world by moulding a novel game with limited over cricket match.
At a time when sports channels have triggered a drawing room sports watching culture, here is a group of youngsters trying to lure sports lovers to the ground by arranging a night show, that too during the summer.
The eight-over tournament is surely an acid test for young blood learning the subtle techniques of the game. This spirit amongst the youth in the locality is the real inspiration for the organisers to conduct this night game without fail every year.
We have decided to dedicate the second prize in memory of Nithin who died in an accident last year while returning after participating in a night match, said Saigal.
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