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MAHARAJAH’S MONTH
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| In July Air-India made its presence felt in America in more ways than one. The giant airlines corporate, and India’s best known brand outside India for over 50 years, won the 4th Annual L.A. Open 20:20 Cricket Tournament at the Woodley Cricket Fields, Van Guys, California on July 3. The three-day tournament was organized by Hamilton
Brewart. Along with the win, the Air-India team received a prize money of $ 25,000. |
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Over 60 international stars from India, West Indies, Canada, and United States put together three days of entertainment for the cricket enthusiasts of California who turned out in no small numbers. The tournament has been the brainchild of Veman Reddy, president of the Southern California Cricket Association
(SCCA).
Over the past three years, the 20:20 has evolved into a 12-team, fast-paced, action-packed form of entertainment. The teams were divided in four pools, the matches were played over a 20 over format for each side, each innings had to be completed in 80 minutes, and a maximum of four overs per bowler was allowed.
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"At Air-India, we are always striving to raise the bar and take the airlines to greater heights"
—CMD V.Thulasidas |
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Woodley is home to the SCCA. There are four cricket fields side by side, each with a naturally laid turf wicket. The lushness all around makes it a spectacle for the eyes, even without the cricket.
Air-India, the top corporate cricket team in India, had former internationals Sameer
Dighe, Pravin Amre and Narendra Hirwani. A Trinidad and Tobago team was represented among others by current international players Ricardo Powell, Lendl Simmons and Dave Mohammed. The Southern California teams included Punjab Blues that had the likes of former West Indian cricketers Curtley Ambrose, Richie Richardson, Stuart Williams and Adam Sanford and Packers XI that included former Indian internationals Mohammed
Azharuddin, Nikhil Chopra, Rohan Gavaskar, and ex-Sri Lankan stars Romesh Kaluwitharna and Kumara
Dharmasena. In addition, there were teams from New York, Florida, Chicago, Northern California and Washington D.C.
According to Kamal Doshi, one of the organizers, "there is no other place in the United States where you get an assembly of such quality players at one specific venue, playing action-packed cricket for three days."
For Air-India it was a win worth traveling all the way
for.
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more...
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August 2006
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