Banglalive Cup has become a household name in the field of Corporate Cricket tournaments. It took just 3 years to establish itself in this competitive world of hardcore professional tournaments.

This year ‘Banglalive Cup 2007’ took place on 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th and 28th January 2007. The venue was the lush green field of FC Cricket Ground of Salt Lake City. First year i.e. in 2005, there were 8 teams; 2nd year i.e. in 2006 there were 12 teams. Following the growth path, total 15 teams took part in Banglalive Cup 2007. The teams were Price Water House Coopers (PwC), IBM (Red), IBM (Blue), Labvantage (A), Labvantage (B), TCG Software, Tech-Mahindra (A), Tech-Mahindra (B), Air-Sahara, Skytech, Fi-Tek, Celcius Technologies, Dynamic Digital Technologies, BNKe Solutions and Kolkata Press Club. Keeping the growing trend in mind, Celcius Technologies (a Chatterjee Group company) and SKIN Technologies, the twin organizers of Banglalive Cup were well prepared to manage this year’s tournament in much bigger scale. LabVantage was the Pinnacle Partner of Banglalive Cup this year.

The tournament started in a smooth mood and gradually gathered momentum as more and more league matches were played. It was a 6-a-side tournament. In the league matches each team had to play for 6 overs per match. There were bowling restrictions too. In the league matches, bowlers could bowl maximum 2 overs in a match of 6 overs. The semifinals and the final match were of 10 overs each. The bowling restriction per bowler was of 3 overs in case of the semifinals and the final match. Since there were 15 teams participating in the tournament, total 3 groups were formed, each group containing 5 teams. Each team had to play 4 group matches with its group partners. Thus, the 3 semi finalists were the three group champions. The 4th semi finalist team was selected on the basis of run-rate.

A 4-member team of umpires under the strict leadership of international umpire Mr. Subrata Banerjee was in charge of smooth running of the matches. It was really hard to believe that the players who were playing in the field were not professional players but IT wizards. The white ball with black side screen and orange wickets created an ideal atmosphere for corporate cricket. Beautifully decorated huge umbrellas erected outside the boundary lines all over the ground created a perfect ambience of light yet serious tournament.

Banglalive Cup 2007 saw the Bengal Ranji cricket team captain Mr. Deep Dasgupta playing for Air Sahara as an employee of that organization. He could play just one match on 20th January 2007, as, soon after that he had to fly to play his Ranji Trophy semifinal match. During the tournament the news came that, Bengal reached the final of Ranji Trophy and would be playing against Mumbai team in Mumbai under the leadership of Mr. Deep Dasgupta.

After the completion of the entire league matches on 27th January, Tech-Mahindra (B), IBM (Blue), Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) and IBM (Red) went to the semifinals. On 28th January, in the first semifinal, IBM (Blue) scored 128 runs in 9.3 overs losing all its wickets. Batting second, Tech-Mahindra (B) scored 91 runs in 10 overs losing 4 wickets. IBM (Blue) won the match and went to the final.

In the second semifinal, IBM (Red) scored 94 runs in 10 overs losing 4 wickets. Batting second, PwC scored the necessary runs in 8.5 overs by losing only 3 wickets and won the match. So. PwC went to the final by winning the 2nd semifinal match.

It was expected that the final match between PwC and IBM would be an exciting one. Honestly speaking, it surpassed all expectations. IBM (Blue) scored 117 runs in 10 overs losing 4 wickets. It was a tough target to achieve. But PwC, simply by smashing the bowling attack of IBM (Blue) scored the necessary runs in 9.1 overs without losing any wicket. PwC came out in flying colors at the end of a really tough match by any standard. And PwC became the champion of Banglalive Cup 2007 as the most deserving team. They became champions for the two consecutive years.

Mr. Palash Roy of PwC was declared Man-of-the-Match for his stormy batting performance in the final match of Banglalive Cup 2007. Interestingly, Mr. Roy was declared Man-of-the-Match after the Banglalive Cup 2006 also. Mr. Suman Mallick of IBM (Blue) was declared Man-of-the-Series for his consistently excellent performance in the tournament. The trophy of ‘Best Supporter’ of the tournament went to BNKe Solutions. The Champion team received a cheque worth Rs.10,000 and the Runner up team received a cheque worth Rs.5,000 in the prize distribution ceremony after the match.