SVCC bats on the front foot, BPL 2022 ends with Silchar Warriors as victorious; Meet the stars of season 5

Silchar Warrioirs met the Badarpur Royals under lights in the finals and it was a complete mismatch. However, the thousands who gathered at the Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium in Silchar witnessed amazing batting, quality bowling and some fantastic fielding. That’s exactly why Barak Premier League is a cricketing extravaganza and not just a tournament.

Being played in March, the tournament organisers, Silchar Veteran’s Cricketer’s Club were put amidst many challenges. The heatwaves, the dried down grass blades, and tired pitches. But, since the organisers themselves were students and practitioners of the sport, they found out a way to freshen things up.

“The discipline, the pitch and the way the tournament has been organised is top class” Pritam Das

“The discipline, the pitch and the way the tournament has been organised is top class,” says Pritam Das who made a comeback to BPL after two years. Another Ranji player, Manisankar Mura Singh too lauded the pitch and the playing condition. That’s where they won half the battle and the remaining half was taken care of by the 12 franchises who entered the tournament. Cricket lovers have their own favorites that they want to watch and whom they only get to watch during the BPL, some were missing but Barak Valley’s cricket fans found new stars to root for.

 

One of them happens to be Vivek Singh. Bengal and Railways player, Singh is a left-handed batter who played only two matches and left the audience wanting more. In his first innings at the BPL, the Kolkata boy scored 81 runs of 30 balls. He displayed hitting of a different style. Flat sixes hitting the advertising boards will be remembered for a very long time. His team, Barak Bulletin Striker which was also making its debut at BPL lost in the Semis against Badarpur Royals, but he was adjudged the best batter of the tournament.

 

 

Local stars who are in the best form, Samik Das, Abhishek Thakuri were duly missed by the teams as well as the fans. Delhi boy, Mayank Rawat too missed the tournament as he had to be at the State camp for Delhi. But one player who became the crowd favorite this time was another Bengal-Boy, Kaushik Giri. Emerging as a utility player for the Warriors, Kaushik Giri was Mr. Consistent of BPL 2022. He walked away with pride and dignity as his team lifted the Winners’ Trophy. He was adjudged as the man of the series for his all-round performance with bat, bowl, and in the field. Many players traveled from Bengal including Vivek Singh, Sayan Ghosh, Subham Sarkar, Avilin Ghosh, Ajmer Singh… Kaushik Giri definitely outperformed all of them.

 

 

Though the big names matter a lot, Avoy Kumar Yadav proved that local players can make a difference. In the star-studded Silchar Warriors, Yadav was not even remotely discussed by opposition teams in their boardroom meetings. In the finals, when the Badarpur Royals were chasing mammoth 197 runs, everyone knew that there is one man who can do it and he is Deepak Khatri. He scored five sixes in ten balls against the Barak Bulletin Strikers to take the match away from them. Khatri started hitting in the final too. But Avoy Kumar Yadav, staying true to his name which means “fearless” flighted one that drifted to the leg stump to beat Khatri and take his middle off. It was game set and match. He ended the match with four wickets and the tournament with nine. He was adjudged the bowler of the tournament.

 

 

“The crowd backs me here in Silchar and for me, the atmosphere is better than Delhi,” Deepak Khatri

One senior sports journalist of Barak Valley said that if BPL became as big as it is today, it is due to the immense contribution of Deepak Khatri along with a few other players. Khatri showed a brand of hitting that Silchar didn’t see before. It is not one six or one huge six, it is the brute assault that he launches and on his day, he takes the game away from any opponent within a few minutes. He did so in the Semi-Finals of this season and many times before. This year, he ended up being the runner-up but took home the award for hitting the maximum number of sixes.
“When I play here, it feels like I am playing at my home. The crowd backs me and for me, the atmosphere is better than Delhi. I wait to travel to Silchar for this tournament every year and gladly, we have always managed to make it to the finals at least and we have won it too,” opines Deepak Khatri.

 

 

The beauty of BPL is that it provides a launchpad for the young players to rise up their performances a level or two. Under 19 district player, Aman Singh opened the innings with Ranji and limited over star in India’s domestic circuit, Vivek Singh for the Barak Bulletin Strikers. Aman Singh was excited all throughout to pair with his new opening partner. It was very difficult for young Aman to get noticed as Vivek Singh always stole the show when he was in. However, Aman Singh ended the tournament with the highest runs among all the players from Assam. Swarupam Purkayastha, Pallab Das, and many other Ranji and state players from Assam played from various teams and yet Aman Singh outscored all of them. He was awarded the promising player of the tournament.

Delhi boy Parth Bali who played for the Silchar Lions and was the only one to score a century in BPL 2022, was awarded the most valuable player of the tournament. Wicket Keeper Batter for the Badarpur Royals who scored a critical half-century in the Semi-Finals against Barak Bulletin Strikers was adjudged the best Wicket Keeper.

 

“Already looking forward to the next season of BPL,” Manishankar Murasingh

In the five years of BPL, it became clear that if there is a big match then the man of that match is none other then the star from Tripura, Manishankar Mura Singh. In the final match, batting first, Silchar Warriors were 123 runs at the end of 15th over. Badarpur Royals chased 164 comfortably against a decent bowling attack of the Strikers and so, the Warriors needed to make most of the last five over. Walked in Mura Singh and he did. He scored 47 runs from just 22 balls with the help of four huge sixes and then picked up important wickets with the ball. His all-round performances won him the Man Of The Match. Not only he has won the trophy, but he also signed himself off as the Silchar crowd’s most favorite player yet again. “Already looking forward to the next season of BPL,” says Mura Singh.

While walking into the tournament, Sayan Ghosh who played for the Barak Bulletin Strikers said that there was a time when he opened the bowling attack with Pritam Das for the East Zone. He also spoke about sharing camps with Mura Singh and how this tournament is like a union of the best from the Zone. That’s where SVCC managed to take BPL despite the logistical challenges. It is Cricket that attracts the best from around the zone and even wider.