Kerala Overseas Cricketers (KOC) recent Kerala trip concluded in grand manner by winning all 3 matches held at Cochin. The cricket tournament was named, FRIENDSHIP CUP and as the name affirms, it was truly a friendship tournament in which majority of the yesteryears players participated whole heartedly. Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) rightly acknowledged the tournament by sending their officials to witness the great felicitation program held on the 11th of January 2014 at NM Royal County, Tripunithura, Cochin.
KOC felicitated Kerala Cricket Association President T.C. Mathew for his recent induction into the BCCI, Sanju V. Samson for his elite performance in IPL and Under 19 Indian Team and V.A. Jadish, who got selected for Indian A team recently.
Great deal of cohesion and warmth were visible amongst the players during the matches. The players from both KOC and KYV (Kerala Young Veterans) were really enthusiastic in meeting up their friends after a long gap which was evident during the felicitation program. However, the fighting spirit was not drained by friendship, which was evident in all matches.
The real highlight of the Friendship cup was that KOC were able to put up a great show with some brilliant individual performances which has paved the way for victories in all 3 matches.
KOC Captain CTK Usman Kutty led from the front by showing real all-round skill in all departments. In the second match, he pulled off a stunning diving catch, combined with brilliant bowling performance, eventually proved to be very crucial for KOC’s victory. All matches were ended up as close finish in which the last match went up to the wire. KOC batsman, Shaji Balan took the challenge with a stunning last ball six. Nevertheless, KYV team gave KOC a tough fight till the end in which the fortunes were ever changing.
Both KOC & KYV players exchanged mementos as a mark of their true love & friendship. It was really an emotional moment for all the participants. In the end, KOC promptly acknowledged and thanked for the great Coordination work done by Kerala Young Veterans Team management, especially Sunil Kumar (SBT) and Mohammed Afsal (UAE Exchange) for making this tournament happen without much hassle. CSS Group were the sponsors for the KOC Team
KOC Team members: Usmankutty CTK, Haneesh babu, Fida Asghar, Mashood CTK, Prajith, Ali CCO, Manoj Menon, Reji Mohan, Naufal Pilackandy, Shajil Balan, Hareesh M Haridas, Anantharaman, Balajee, Biju, Noushad, Jaleel.