Irvine Pakistani Parents Association Organizes Tournament to Raise Funds for Schools
By Farhan Aziz
The Barranca Bulls showed great unity and skill as they achieved a hard fought win in the finals of the 2013 Irvine Premier League T10 tournament. The Bulls beat a young and talented Turtle Rock Titans, who were certainly the Cinderella story of the tournament, but fell just 12 runs short in the final.
The 2013 IPL T10 final between the Titans and the Bulls kicked off with the singing of the national anthem by Bailey Beck, a freshman at Northwood High School in Irvine. Both teams were introduced to Wendy Bokota, the Director of Community Relations at the Irvine Public Schools Foundation. The final, which started at 2 pm, attracted hundreds of cricket enthusiasts, and members of the Pakistani/Indian American communities who had gathered at Angel Stadium to enjoy cricket as well as a South Asian bazaar hosted by the Irvine Pakistani Parents Association. This is the second year that the IPPA has organized this tournament, and the first year that the event has been held at the Angel Stadium.
After winning the toss, the Bulls batted first. The dynamic opening partnership of Shayan Ghani and Abba Ali lasted two overs, as Usman Khan removed youngster Shayan for just 8. Abba Ali, who seems to be at his best in big games, was also dismissed by Titan’s trump card and winner of the ‘ MoneyGram Fastest Bowler’ contest, Aman Singh just when Abba Ali looked most threatening. Just then, Bulls captain, Muhammed Sadiq showed great maturity and talent as he belted his way to a match high 39 in 19 balls. With the Bulls posting 112/5 in 10 , the Titans felt they had every chance of chasing it down, especially with the tournament’s top run scorer and winner of the JFK Realty Best Batsman award, Zeeshan Khamisani in the lineup. But it was Mohammed Sadiq who again showed his talent, this time with the ball, bowling two crucial overs, that pegged the Titans back, putting more pressure on the Tandoori Fresh tournament MVP Usman Khan and Zee Khamisani to chase down 60 runs in the last four overs. Despite some ferocious late inning hitting by Usman, the runs dried up at the other end and with the Titans needing 24 runs in the last over, Shayan Ghani bowled a tight line to help the Bulls defend their 2012 crown.
The crowds were also treated to three unique contests. For the first time in America, MoneyGram hosted the ‘longest throw’ and the search for the ‘fastest bowler’ contests. Hammad Shahid of the Walnut Warriors registered the longest throw at 280 feet, while Aman Singh clocked the fastest ball at 78 mph. A taped tennis ball was used in both events. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), a friend of the tournament, also came out to host the first ever “Fittest Cricketer” contest. The contest tested for speed and power through a number of anaerobic drills. Daniyal Ali of the Walnut Warriors survived the grueling drills to be crowned LAPD’s “Fittest Cricketer.”
The Irvine Pakistani Parents Association estimated that over 700 people attended the event during the day. This was certainly a great moment as the community came together to promote an important piece of South Asian culture – cricket – the birth sport of baseball, under the shadows of one of its most admired landmarks, Angel Stadium.
It should be noted that this annual tournament is organized to raise funds for the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps promote after-school enrichment programs at Irvine schools. The crowds were treated to some colorful commentary, courtesy of Iram Parveen Bilal, an international filmmaker of Pakistani decent.
The following awards were also presented at the closing ceremony:
SPECIAL CONTEST AWARDS
MoneyGram's Biggest Arm (Longest Throw) - Hamad Shahid (Walnut Warriors) 280 feet
MoneyGram's Fastest Bowler - Aman Singh (Turtle Rock Titans) 78 mph with taped tennis ball
LAPD's Fittest Cricketer - Daniyal Ali (Walnut Warriors) survived five rounds of killer anaerobic drills
PERFORMANCE AWARDS
IPL T10 Spirit of Cricket (Team) - Trabuco Tigers (Rashid Ramzan accepted)
IPL T10 Spirit of Cricket (Individual) - Ms. Sandra Ibarra (Walnut Warriors)
IPL T10 Best Umpire - Nishant Patel
NY Life's Man of the Match - Mohammed Sadiq (Barranca Bulls)
JFK Realty's Best Fielder of the Tournament - Imran Ahmed (Turtle Rock Titans)
JFK Realty's Best Bowler of the Tournament - Nasir Memon (Barranca Bulls) and Usman Khan (Turtle Rock Titans)
KIG's Best Batsman of the Tournament - Zeeshan Khamisani
Tandoori Fresh's Most Valuable Player of the Tournament - Usman Khan (Turtle Rock Titans)
MoneyGram's 2013 IPL T10 Runner Up - Turtle Rock Titans
MoneyGram's 2013 IPL T10 Champions - Barranca Bulls
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND VOLUNTEER AWARDS
IPPA Volunteer Recognition Award - Saquib Mansoor, Idris Mohsin, Humayun Bilal, Zafar Siddiqi, Rehan Suhrwardy and Tahir Yasin
IPPA Community Outreach Award - Mrs. Wendy Bokota (IPSF) and Officer Chand Syed (LAPD)
Back to Pakistanlink Homepage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
