The February Fervor!

Being an Indian, we get an adrenaline rush for only one thing when it comes to sports!
No prizes for guessing the name! Yes, Cricket it is!
Cricket is not just another sport in India, but it is religion, reason for social meetings, a hot topic
for debate or discussion and what not!
From gully to school to college to even corporate world, everyone is ever ready to play, and our
Jacobians are no exception. Cricket has dropped its feet even deeper inside the blood of
Jacobians in the form of Jacobs Vadodara League (JVL).

JVL is an annual intra-office cricket tournament usually played in the month of Jan/Feb. The
formation of the teams for the same usually starts 2-3 months prior to the day of matches. As per
the procedure every year, for this year too, it all started from exciting live auction (which took
place only for the 2nd time) of players like that of IPL. It was a gala event as right from
departmental heads to employees to even support staff were a part of this. 18 different owners
forming 8 teams bidded for total 125 players from which finally 88 were chosen.

JVL-2019 Auction (click here to find out more about the auction process & team details)

With more than two months of rigorous training, combined with the eagerness and excitement,
the day finally arrived, and 16th February 2019 marked the first day of Jacobs Vadodara League-
2019. The teams were finally ready to lock their horns with their opponents to eventually emboss
their name on the JVL trophy.

Each team played two games (viz. on 16th & 17th). The teams which had won both their matches,
qualified for quarterfinals directly whereas the teams which had won only one match, qualified
on account of their Net Run Rate. Subsequently, the winning teams qualified further ahead to the
semis and then to finals respectively.
All the matches were thrilling and went down to the wire but finally the teams E & F booked a
berth in the finals apiece on the afternoon of 24th February.

Team F had ‘Kohli’esque attributes as the team was full of young blood while team E had
‘Dravid’esque attributes as the team was a mix of youngsters to far-experienced. Team F was
riding high on confidence with all the wins in the matches they played whereas team E did more
of a course correction to make up for the heavy loss they faced in league matches. Having said
this, they carried a legacy of winning trophies in the previous versions of JVL.

The stakes were high in the finals and the odds were heavily stacked in favor of team F as they
had won all their previous matches. In the first inning, team F, true to their track record,
succeeded in restricting team E to only XX runs as a result of their splendid bowling
performance, which was considered a below-par score, considering the time of the day and the
pitch conditions. Now, it was team F’s golden chance of salvation considering a fairly easy task
at hand to chase a below-par score. While chasing, the fortunes turned quickly for team F as they
lost a couple of wickets in rather a short span of time. Stroke of the bad luck never left their side
on the day and they fell short of the target. Team E finally managed to cross the line owing to
some disciplined bowling, ticking the right boxes proving to be a better team on that day.
Thus, team F lifted this year’s JVL Trophy.
Irrespective of the results, each team exhibited strong team building and true sportsmanship and
played with true character.
Emphasizing gender diversity, not only the male but female players also participated in teams.
Also, one whole women team gave a tough battle to 2nd runners up team. This team spirit, being
exceptionally high, proved to be one of the major factors for success of whole event. Indeed, the
over excited & over enthusiastic 12th man (audience) doubled the fever of cricket. High sun,
sucking up all energy was restored by the sound of cheers of team & family members with
immense zeal.
JVL render discipline by following pre-defined rules & regulations and placing safety at peak.
Appreciation to the splendid work of umpires, commentators, scorers & captains. Last but not
the least, bow deeply in gratitude to the heart of event - Sponsors, for investing in Team &
providing opportunity to individual to showcase their talent on field.
Jacobs Vadodara League did (JVL-18), is doing (JVL-19) and will continue (JVL-20 / WVL-20)
to mark this victory in the history of Jacobs.
Organizing an event of such a big scale requires a mountainous deal of management and on
behalf of Jacobs Vadodara, we thank Mr. Ashutosh Raval and Team for their excellent efforts to
make this event a Blockbuster !
#Cricketfever #onlygossipthroughoutthosedays #passsionofwinning #nervousness
#enthusiasm #daynightpractices #eachdaycounted #determination #excitement

JVL Final Showdown