BAPS Charities organised a national indoor cricket tournament, the ‘Yogi Yuva Cup’, held simultaneously at Harrow Leisure Centre, The Swaminarayan School and BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London on the weekend on 30-31 March 2019.
This year marked the 21st anniversary of the tournament and was held over two days due to the record participation of 42 teams and more than 300 players aged 16-50 from various towns and cities across the UK and Europe.
10 teams played in the qualifying stages on the first day – four of which secured a place amongst the 36 teams that competed in the main tournament on the second day. The top two teams from eight groups progressed to the knockout stages of the competition.
Debutants Europe Challengers continued their momentum from the qualifying stages and reached the semi-finals where they were eventually defeated by Mandir Sevaks A. Defending champions Finchley A defeated East London A with a powerful bowling display in the second semi-final, to maintain the defence of their title and their quest to win a third consecutive trophy.
Superb batting performances by both teams contributed to a high-scoring final. Harrow B set a very competitive score of 98 for Finchley A to chase. Despite the scoreboard pressure of the large total, the defending champions produced a composed chase employing an effective balance of aggression and risk to defend their trophy for another year.
The hugely successful event encouraged youths and adults leading busy lifestyles to engage in some healthy activity and helped develop positive community relations. Every team contributed to high-quality cricket, providing entertainment and competitiveness that was played with a spirit of unity and sportsmanship.
Notable individual and team performances are detailed below:
– Yogi Yuva Cup Winners 2019: Finchley A
– Yogi Yuva Cup Runners-up 2019: Harrow B
– Yogi Yuva Cup Best Batsman 2019: Kalpesh Dangar
– Yogi Yuva Cup Best Bowler 2019: Arpit Naik
