84 teams for inter-varsity cricket championship

Manipal University is hosting one of the biggest domestic cricket championship in the country, in terms of participation, with 84 teams and 1,500 players and officials in action at seven grounds.

The South Zone Inter-Varsity Cricket Championship, for selecting the south zone representatives for the 77-year-old Rohinton Baria Trophy All India Inter-Zonal Inter-Varsity Cricket Tournament, will start from December 17 at seven venues simultaneously.

 The matches, which are of 50-over format, will be played at Manipal, Udupi and Mangalore. Apart from the main venue Manipal Endpoint Ground-One, Endpoint Ground Two, Manipal Institute of Technology Ground, Udupi MGM College Ground and Brahmavar SMS College are the other grounds hosting the battles for South Zone title.

Matches will also be played at NITK-A and NITK-B grounds.

The semi-finals will be played on December 29 at Endpoint Ground Two and MIT Ground. The final will be played at the Endpoint One Ground on December 30 and the match for placings will be at MIT Ground on the same day.

 Speaking to Deccan Herald, Tournament Convener Dr Vinod Nayak said that the arrangements for both the tournaments are in full-swing. “We are providing all facilities, including accommodation for the participating teams and officials,” he said.

The South Zone Championship will be followed by the All India Inter-Zonal Inter Varsity Cricket Tournament for Rohinton Baria Trophy, which was once considered a prestigious title and served as a battle field for past legends of Indian cricket.

The championship is being organised under the aegis of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The matches will be played under the BCCI Playing Conditions for the limited over tournaments.The championship will be inaugurated by BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Prof Rathnakar Shetty on December 17 at Endpoint Ground.