Incredible Australian Universities Tour of India ends, for now

The Australian Universities’ nearly two-week long cricket tour of India ended yesterday with the Indian team taking the victory in the 45-over game, capping off a dominant 6-1 series win by the host nation’s representative teams from DY Patil University in Mumbai and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar.

Despite winning just one game on tour, the exposure to elite competition and the rich cultural heritage of India has been a wonderful experience for the touring Australian students.

“On behalf of our team, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone in India for their incredible hospitality,” said Australian Universities captain Kavvy Saini (Bachelor of Commerce, Macquarie University) after the tour ended, “the warmth and generosity we experienced both on and off the field has been unforgettable. The competition was fierce and brought out the best in us, making it a truly remarkable tour. We are leaving with not only great memories but also a deeper appreciation for the spirit of cricket that unites us all.”

India is a nation boasting the title of world’s most populous country, with an estimated 1.5 billion people. India has no shortage of talent pools to pick from and their combined universities team truly reflect the depth of ability they have on offer.

The first leg of the Australian Universities (AUS) cricket tour started in Mumbai at the DY Patil University for three T20 matches.

In game one, AUS were sent into bat and were bowled out for 130. Dhanvi Vemulapalli (Bachelor of Information Communications Technology, Western Sydney University) top scored with 42 runs from 34 balls with Jamshed Alam producing a scintillating spell with the ball, picking up figures of 5/24. The Indian Universities (IND) team were able to chase the total down with 22 balls to spare, led by a powerful 24 ball 53 run innings by Deepin Chitkara. Charlie Howard (Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Hons, University of Technology Sydney) put up some resistance with the ball, taking 3/25, but was unable to stop the IND team taking the win.

The second match saw the AUS team sent into bat for successive games, fighting a tricky pitch to post 126/8 in their allotted overs. Tom Connolly’s (Bachelor of Urban Planning Hons, UNSW) 37 runs (45 balls) and Jackson Kent’s (Bachelor of Commerce and Psychology, Macquarie University) 33 runs (34 balls) were standouts from the AUS innings despite Vikrant Rana’s 4/12 four-over spell. Led by Yash Dabas’ 59 not out off 39 balls, the IND team were able to close out the match with 5.1 overs to spare.

The third and final match of the first leg saw the IND team romp to a dominant 117 run victory. Posting 245/4 in their 20 overs, Yashvardhan Singh’s 99 runs off 43 balls and Deepin Chitkara’s 91 from 40 balls proved too much for an AUS team only able to muster 128/9 in their allotted overs. Angus White’s 46 from 42 balls was a standout knock in what was otherwise a tough day out for the AUS team.

The second leg of the Australian Universities cricket tour took the squad to Bhubaneswar, India where they had a further four matches, including three T20s and a 50-over game.

The fourth match produced the AUS team’s first and only win, in a titanic battle that saw both teams make the full 20 overs, with the Australians securing the win with 5 runs to spare. Posting 149/9 led by Jackson Kent’s 47 runs off 35 balls, the opposition were only able to score 144/8 thanks to AUS captain Saini’s 3/29 in four overs.

Matches five and six were played as a double-header on 3 December and saw the IND team produce two batting and bowling masterclasses. The IND team posted 206/9 in game five, led once again by Yashvardhan Singh scoring a free flowing 80 off just 27 balls, before Amar Chaudhary ripped through the AUS batting order with incredible figures of 4/9 dismissing the AUS team for just 76 runs.

Match six was much of the same for the Indian University team, posting a mammoth 222/3 in their 20 overs, before skittling the AUS team for 61 runs in just 13 overs. Yash Dabas contributed a quickfire 62 off 30 balls to lead the IND batting attack, with Parthasarathi Nayak starring in a clinical IND bowling display picking up 4/12 in 3 overs.

The final game of the tour was a 50 over match with the IND team setting the AUS side a score of 297 to chase. Despite Kavvy Saini once again leading the bowling attack with figures of 5/61 in 9 overs, the AUS team were unable to stop the runs piling up. Pranjal Saini, who scored 57 off 60 balls, was the top run scorer for the IND Team. Unfortunately, the AUS team fell 113 runs short in their final test of what was a challenging, but exciting tour of India.

Across the bilateral series the Indian University side had both the leading run scorers and the top wicket takers.

Yashovardhan Singh, who set the tournament alight with phenomenal ball striking and an ability to find runs in any condition, had the series’ standout batting performance with his top score of 99 off 43. Singh is a state representative, listed as playing for Uttar Pradesh and also plays for the Kashi Rudras in the region’s T20 domestic competition.

Yash Dabas also had a competition to remember scoring runs to help his side dominate on the field. Dabas is another member of the IND team who has representative experience playing in the Delhi T20 Premier League for the North Delhi Strikers, being listed in Delhi’s state squad. Dabas was nominated for the IPL in the most recent auction for the 2025 edition of the competition.

India Universities captain Amar Chaudhary was the standout with ball in hand, claiming several wickets during the tour. Chaudhary also plays for the Kashi Rudras alongside India Universities teammate Singh with his representative experience coming to the fore throughout the tour.

While the results favoured the hosts, the AUS team performed extremely well and can travel home with their heads held high.

TEAM AWARDS:

Best Batter: Jackson Kent

Best Bowler: Kavvy Saini

Best Fielder: Will Straker (Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation, University of Technology Sydney)

Rising Star: Charlie Howard

This chance to play against such quality opposition for the Australians was as an opportunity to compete at a high level, ultimately adding to the overall learning experience. Coupled with the incredible cultural exposure, the trip to the subcontinent has been amazing for all involved.

The tour was designed to promote development both on and off the field. Playing at the DY Patil University in Mumbai and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, the squad of players and officials were granted tours of each campus, showcasing the very best of the education facilities from the host universities.

KIIT a household name in the education sector has become a sought-after destination in India for professional studies. It is admired all over for the quality of its academic courses, its community outreach work and as a university of compassion and humanitarianism. It has become a case study because no other educational institution in India has grown in its scope and scale as much as KIIT has in a short span of 25 years. Today, KIIT offers professional education to around 35,000 students from across India. This includes 1800 international students from 65 countries. The alumni of KIIT, over a lakh of them, have made their mark in their respective careers in academics, corporate organisations, civil services and enterprise.

The Australian Universities team visit KISS University in Bhubaneswar, India.

4 December 2024

In both Mumbai and Bhubaneswar, a cultural programme was delivered during the rest days that further connected our cricketers to the Indian way of life. A visit to the Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS) provided players another opportunity to visit with thousands of local students who filled the stands in the previous matches. KISS started with 125 poor indigenous students in 1992-93 and has now grown in scale and scope, catering to 80,000 indigenous children. Of these, 30,000 students study at the main campus in Bhubaneswar, 40,000 are alumni and 10,000 study at 10 satellite centres of KISS across Odisha. It has indirectly impacted over eight million tribal children and youth.

The ability to participate in such activities has strengthened the relationship between UniSport Australia and the Association of Indian Universities, as this tour ends, and UniSport look forward to the corresponding event when Australia will host India in 2025.

“We have been very honoured to host the Australian Universities Cricket Team here in India, fostering a spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship that transcends our two countries,” said Dr. Baljit Singh Sekhon, Joint Secretary, Association of Indian Universities.

Mark Sinderberry, CEO of UniSport Australia added, “we would like to extend our gratitude to Association of Indian Universities for hosting us over the last two weeks. We look forward to hosting a reverse tour on Australian soil in 2025. We will endeavour to show the India touring team the same level of hospitality they bestowed on us, and we will look to continue to strengthen the strong bond shared between our nations through a love of cricket.”

About UniSport

UniSport Australia (UniSport) is the peak body for university sport in Australia, representing 42 member universities and a population of over one million students. UniSport’s mission is to become an integral partner of Australian universities by delivering outstanding student experiences through national intervarsity sports competitions. UniSport is also committed to advocating for the value of sport in enhancing the student experience.

For more information: www.unisport.com.au

Media Contact:

Damian Murphy

GM: Marketing & Communications

UniSport Australia

damian.murphy@unisport.com.au