Saath7 Cricket Mahotsav begins; 39680 players participate on opening day

The Wonder Cement #Saath7 Cricket Mahotsav got off to a brilliant start yesterday across 248 tehsils in Rajasthan. Teams turned out in great numbers and put in inspiring performances to ensure their team went through to the 2nd day matches, which will be held on Sunday.

The tournament’s start was very interesting, with matches in all the 248 tehsils starting off at 8 am, with the toss of each match taking place at the exact same time.

The Director of Wonder Cement, Mr. Vivek Patni, conducted the toss for the inaugural match and also interacted with the teams at the Sikarbadi Cricket Ground in Udaipur. He also handed out participation certificates to the teams that participated and spoke to us, saying, “This has been the most awaited day for me to see citizens on play grounds cheering at the top of their voice. The enthusiasm which people have shown today through the great turnout and incredible response has thrilled me.”

The organisers ensured that all the losing teams would have something to show for their performance on the field and issued them all participation certificates.

The Tehsil matches have been designed such that they are spread across this weekend, with the winners of the matches on Saturday playing each other on Sunday.

In total, the matches on Saturday saw a staggering number of players participating, with a total of 39680 players taking part, with 10 players per team and 16 teams in each tehsil (a total of 248 tehsils).

The #Saath7 Cricket Mahotsav is a tournament that looks to promote grassroots sports across the state of Rajasthan and are also focused on community building.

This tournament also will see some special teams participating, and some all-women’s teams, with teams that have a woman on their roster getting 7 additional runs, as part of an initiative to encourage the participation of women and young girls.

Wonder Cement #Saath7 Cricket Mahotsav will run for four weeks with matches being played on weekends. There will be a total of 3984 teams battling for the coveted title. After 15 hit-out matches between the 16 shortlisted teams, one winning team will emerge as the Team of the Tehsil. Tehsil teams will then converge at District headquarters and face each other to shortlist the District team.

33 District teams will then meet at 6 zones around Rajasthan to identify 6 zonal teams. The 6 zonal teams meet at Udaipur on the 17th of January 2016 for the playoffs to identify the State level, Wonder Cement #Saath7 Cricket Mahotsav Champion of Rajasthan.

The initiative will come to an end on the 17th of January, and has great financial reward associated with it, with the total money in terms of prizes amounting to close to Rs. 30 Lac.