The Pramukh Cup entered its 5th year and once again 16 teams from across the nation congregated at London Mandir to compete and reacquaint. Continuing from the memorable Amrut Cup, the Pramukh Cup was again a great triumph for the spirit, brotherhood and unity of the Kishore Mandal.
With no clear cut favourites, an intriguing contest was due. The reintroduction of the minus 5 for getting out also ensured excitement throughout the matches. South A, the holders of the Pramukh Cup started in ominous fashion, as did fellow rivals Brent A, Leicester A and three-time champions North A. During the quarter-finals, Birmingham A provided the first shock of the tournament when for the first time in the history of the Pramukh Cup, a bowl-off had to decide the match, where notably Ram from B’ham A sent Leicester A to an unexpected early exit.
In the semi-finals, South A defeated Birmingham A in imperious fashion, and lightning struck twice during the match between Brent A and North A when another bowl-off had to decide the result in which North A came out to reach their 4th final in five years.
The clash of London was the resultant final between North A and South A, with these two areas being the perpetual protagonists in the struggle for sporting dominance within the Kishore Mandal. South A opened the batting with deft tactics and amassed a total of 35 which looked a tough challenge for North A who despite their best efforts lost. South A ran away winners and in doing so became only the second team ever to retain the trophy.
The Best Bowler Award went to Darpan Amin (South A), and Best Batsman Award went to Hari V Patel (Brent A). Outstanding performers included Arpit Naik (North A), Dipesh Varu (Leicester A), Hemal Patel (South A) and Prinay Patel (Brent A).
2005 set a great benchmark in the values of samp, suhrudbhav and ekta for the Kishore Mandal family during sporting events and this year’s Pramukh Cup was a great example.