The Bay of Plenty Indians celebrate after winning the New Zealand Indian Sports Association cricket tournament for the second time. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED
The Bay of Plenty Indians celebrate after winning the New Zealand Indian Sports Association cricket tournament for the second time. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED
The Bay of Plenty Indians are batting for a successful future after winning their second national cricket title.
The Rotorua-based Bay of Plenty Indians travelled to Christchurch and beat the host side, the Christchurch Indians, in the New Zealand Indian Sports Association cricket tournament, over 20 overs, early this week.
The tournament has been running since 1966 and attracted six teams from across the North Island this year.
The Bay of Plenty Indians won the competition for the second time, after their 2014 victory over Wellington B, defeating Christchurch Indians in the final on Tuesday by 30 runs.
Team captain Rohan Gosai said it was an "amazing feeling" to win after a highly competitive and "nerve-racking" final test.
"What a feeling to win - it was unreal. To lift that trophy was very special," he said.
"It was very fierce out there on the crease. Playing against the host side added pressure and captaining the side but myself and the team managed to hold our nerve."
The Indians defeated Auckland and Wellington on Monday to qualify for the final.
Batting first, the Rotorua side reached 98 all out after 20 overs with batsman Shonit Chandra a standout, hitting a solid 38 runs whilst Gosai posted 12.
The Bay of Plenty bowlers were then ruthless in the second innings, bowling Christchurch all out for 68 runs in 19 overs with Chandra taking three wickets for just 10 runs and Kamal Bains also impressing, taking two wickets for 18 runs.
Bay of Plenty Indians' players Ajay Kumar (left) and Shonit Chandra show off their silverware. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED
Gosai, who admitted to "fearing the worst" after the first innings, put the win down to early wickets for his side and an impressive fielding performance.
"I was a little concerned at the break as I thought we could have reached a higher target," he said. "But I made sure to remain positive and I knew we were always good enough to get the win.
"Getting their top batsmen out early on really set us up and then we made sure to add a lot of pressure on the crease. It did the trick as they started to crumble. It was an excellent allround team performance."
Chandra, who was named most valuable player of the tournament, said a string of sixes gave him confidence at the crease and he dedicated the win to two of their founding members, Harry Unka and Kishor Morarji.
"When the ball sat up nicely I made sure to hit a few massive sixes to get myself to 38 crucial runs in final game," he said. "But it was all about the team. Christchurch were certainly the most difficult team and we won because of great team work.
"We have had Harry and Kishor in our minds the last couple of years since they passed away so it was dedicated to those guys and they are very much still a big part of this club," he said.
Chandra and the Indians' winning team added thanks to all their sponsors who helped them raise $8000 in 15 days to make it to the tournament.
And the side are already aiming to make it a New Zealand Indian Sports Association cricket tournament triple crown in Wellington next year.
