Cricket Legends outshine youths at Dar oval
IT was a wonderful and exciting experience when youthful Tanzanian cricketers shared the same ground with cricket legends living overseas.
During the reunite gala, Mount Uluguru team beat Kilimanjaro by 30 runs in a game held at the Leaders Club in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
The legends team was Mount Uluguru and the youths was Mount Kilimanjaro and they played to exchange experience.
Winning team under captain the former national team’s prodigy, Hitesh Patel batt first and managed to score 98 runs with 4 wickets loss in the 15-overs game.
Chasing the score, Mount Kilimanjaro could not leave their height as they managed only 68 runs, losing 4 wickets, while Jay Labh Gadhvi was about to enter but he will have to wait for the Zanzibar battle.
Kiran Patel scores 45 runs to steer Mt Uluguru to victory, while Viru Kamania scored 31 runs for Kilimanjaro.
The game saw Pranlal Divecha emerging the best player and received a trophy donated by the Patel family and was presented by the eldest of the Tanzanian cricket star, Ramesh Patel.
The battle was part of the Patel Brotherhood Patel Samaj (PBPS) Cricket Festival that started on October 21st in Dar es Salaam with different activities.
The first and of its kind festival now heads to Zanzibar from October 28 to 30.
It is also organised by Tanzania Veterans Cricketers’ Reunion 2022 under Chief coordinator Dinesh Vaishnav and is sponsored by Commercial & Agricultural House M/s Exporters Trading Group( ETG).
Ramesh Patel, 86, is the oldest delegate from 39 former cricketers now residing in the USA, England, Canada, India and Dubai.
They arrived in Tanzania to join their fellow veterans in the historical event whose objectives, according to Vaishnav, is to resurrect the history of cricket that once upon a time – bound them together and promote it also.
Patel who shows that age is only a number, made several battings to open the match and was a sharp and good eye on the ball which excited many.
“I am excited to return to the ground that I used to play after many years. I cherish this comeback the ground looks the same, nothing has changed.
He also presented the donated Patel Trophy to inspire women’s games.
The Legends were also impressed with the level of development of the game especially women’s whose combined teams displayed high level of skills.
