Series - 11 Email: [email protected] Vol - Apr07/01/19 Cover Story THE VALIANT CRICKETING HEROES OF RSR. he semi final won by Rotary Surat Riverside heroes brought them face to face with the cricketers of Rotary Club of Bhavnagar at the centrally situated venue - Shastri Maidan at TAnand on Sunday the 1st of April 2007. The two teams reached the venue earlier night so they could be fresh the next day, all geared up for the Grand Finale. The morning was as still as it could be with the teams reaching on time and starting the match at 8.30 am. RSR lost the toss as usual (all throughout the tournament) and were brought in to bat first. The openers gave a good start with Joy scoring most of the runs with a good average. The first wicket fell at the score of 47 with Joy contributing 35 runs. Asutosh then held the pitch with captain Sunil and the score was cruising at an average of 6 runs per over for long time but Asutosh had to retire due to an upset stomach. Ravi Shah then joined the captain and his bat proved to be fruitful for RSR, with him scoring shots all around the ground including 4 blazing sixers. Asutosh again joined the ground when the captain fell for the ground and was applauded by everybody present on & off the ground including Anns and Annets. Ashutosh was bowled out and Ravi Jhaveri took the crease. The multiple Ravis were scoring at a very good run rate with almost 10 runs an over for 7 consecutive overs. Ravi Shah was then run-out and Samar took on the road to scoring. RSR ended their batting of 30 overs with a mammoth total of 211 runs for Bhavnagar to chase. A small break was then resumed with Joy and Mihir taking on the opening bowling with no great success. The first break through was given by an excellent throw from mid-on and the presence of mind from Ravi Jhaveri to run out the opener. The very next ball of Ravi trapped the batsman for LBW. With 2 quick wickets, the scoring went down…but the patience of the batsmen and a few dropped difficult catches proved as an accelerator to the Bhavnagar team. The batsmen took their time on the pitch without any hurry and kept the scoreboard ticking with patience. The heat of the afternoon sun seemed to be taking a toll on the RSR fielding and the opponents took the best advantage of this. RC Bhavnagar finally made it to the huge score with a professional approach with 5 balls to spare in the final over. The Final ended with RSR emerging as runners up… But the spirits of the Riversiders were not down as they surely did the best to get to the Finals for the first time in the club history. THREE CHEERS TO THE RSR CRICKETERS…. Losing sure is depressing….but not for RSR as it brought the team to a new height of respect and exuberance. WINNING IS NOT IMPORTANT, BUT THE SPIRIT OF GAME SURE IS. This was visible as both the teams had a comfortable lunch and parted with handshakes and smiles. LONG LIVE RSR CRICKET. - Report by Rtn. Mihir Shukla IN RETROSPECT CAN'T GOOD PLAYERS GET OUT LEG-BEFORE-WICKET? Rotary Surat Riverside cricket tigers had reached the semifinals after displaying a series of good performances against RC Surat East, RC Baroda Jawaharnagar and RC Bharuch. This created a good hype amongst all the players as well as all the members. RSR had to take on the formidable RC Rajkot Midtown in the semis to secure their place in the finals. We played host to the Rajkotis who were received, welcomed and escorted by PP Rtn. Siddharth Shah and PE Rtn. Sanjay Pandya the previous night. Everybody was on the ground on Sunday the 25th March to outplay one another. Three cheers to Rtn. Jugal who text messaged not only all Riversiders, but also the neighbouring club Rotarians who spared their valuable time to cheer our team. But still, the 100 % support which our The triumphant finalist Riversiders players were looking from our own club was lacking. RSR continued the sequence of losing the toss once again and was called in to bat by the visitors. And like Ricky Ponting of Australia stated, “It would be the opponents mistake if they decide to chase”, the RSR openers also started hitting the ball in all directions immediately upon taking stance. Although we lost our first wicket (Joy) in the 4th over, Ashutosh joined captain Sunil and kept the score board ticking with excellent running between the wickets. Their 81 runs partnership broke in the 18th over, but by then both of them had laid a solid foundation for the middle order to go for the slog overs. Captain Sunil scored yet another half century a commendable act at his age given the fact that he also keeps the wickets all throughout the other innings. Samar, Ravi Patel, Ravi Shah and Raju made sure to capitalize on the good start and took the RSR total to 192 for 5 wickets at the end of the slated 30 overs. The Rajkot Midtown bowlers Bhavesh took two wickets and Samar, Hemal and Naren bagged one each. The visitors also got their act together and began the run chase well in line with the asking run rate. Opener Dinesh resorted to taking singles while the other opener Sameer took the “Sehwag” approach firing all cylinders to each corner of the boundary. But he got disappointed when Ravi trapped him leg before and the umpire gave the decision in favour of the bowler. The one down player Dipak played responsibly and placed his innings well with a mix of singles and odd boundaries. He got out after making a good 56 runs. It seemed in the middle of the innings that the visitors will cruise through as our players dropped catches and missed stumping chances, but once RSR got the break through there started an array of run outs and stumpings. Slowly the tight bowling of Bankim, Ravi and Ashutosh made the Rajkotis struggle to curb the asking run rate. All the Riverside supporters in the stand including Anns and Annets were literally shouting on each dot delivery. The last ball requiring 20 runs to win was hit for a four but couldn't help overcome the total of RSR and we won the match by 15 runs. The “cheerleaders” from the stand rushed to embrace the captain and players who took the club to the finals of the district cricket tournament for the first time. There was celebration all around and greetings were exchanged between both the clubs in good spirit - although the guests RC Rajkot Midtown did not give us the opportunity to extend our warm hospitality and left immediately to reach back home. Three cheers for the RSR tigers who did us proud!!! SCOREBOARD Rotary Surat Riverside Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown Sunil c. Dinesh b. Bhavesh 54 Dinesh run out 21 Joy c. Dinesh b. Bhavesh 09 Sameer lbw Ravi Zaveri 22 Asutosh st. wk b. Sameer 38 Dipak st. Sunil b. Bankim 56 Samar b. Hemal 12 Hemal c. Joy b. Samar 29 Ravi Shah b. Naren 14 Bharat run out 00 Raju not out 03 Viral st. Sunil b. Bankim 08 Ravi Zaveri not out 32 Naren run out 03 Mihir DNB – Bhavesh c. Raju b. Asutosh 13 Mukund DNB -- Amish run out 01 Bankim DNB -- Ketan run out 04 Amish DNB -- Player 11 not out 00 Extras 30 Extras 20 Total 192 Total 177 Past RI President Barth dies Rotary International News Robert R. Barth, who served as president of Rotary International during 1993-94, died on 29 March 2007. A Rotarian since 1956, Barth was a member of the Rotary Club of Aarau, Switzerland. The RI theme he selected for 1993-94 was Believe in What You Do – Do What You Believe In. Barth also served Rotary as district governor, information institute counselor, RI training leader, committee member and chair, Foundation trustee and chair, director, and treasurer. In addition, he was an RI representative to the United Nations in Geneva. He was a recipient of the Polio-Plus Pioneer Award and The Rotary Foundation's Distinguished Service Award for his extraordinary service to PolioPlus. A beverage industry executive, Barth was president of Robarth Holding AG, former president of CESDA (Confederation of European Soft Drink Manufacturers), and former chair of the Swiss Sport Aid Foundation. He served in the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Aarau. Funeral services were held at 14:00, Wednesday, 4 April 2007 in the Gemeindesaal, Breitenstrasse 14, CH-4852, Rothrist, Switzerland. Barth is survived by his wife, Gerty, his two sons, Alexander and Daniel, and daughter, Christine, and their families. Condolences may be addressed to Gerty Barth at Spycherweg 13, Ch-4852 Rothrist, Switzerland. Memorial contributions may be made to the Swiss Red Cross, Postcheckkonto 30-9700-00, Switzerland. Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary Why I am a Rotarian PHOTO QUIZ I am a Rotarian because I love people. By the Grace of my Maker, I have received so much from society that I feel constantly obligated to give something back to it in return. Through Rotary, I have discovered the avenue to discharge this obligation on a continuous and satisfying way. I have discovered a goal, which is worth more than life itself. That goal is to contribute significantly to the creation of something good and permanently useful to people; that something should be a beacon of inspiration for those travelers who will come after me on my life's travel-road.