The Mohun Bagan football ground hosted a cricket match after years with the Bengal Heritage Foundation (BHF) team, comprising NRIs mostly from Britain, facing a combined team from the British Deputy High Commission and the British Council.

In the match played on matted wicket, a few rules were tweaked. Overs were of five balls each and a batsman had to retire on reaching 30. Put into bat, the British side, captained by deputy high commissioner Nick Low, put up 125 for three in 15 overs. The BHF team romped home with four overs to spare, boosted by a partnership between former Bengal player Judhajit Mukherjee and Sarbartha Chakrabarti, the man of the match who took three wickets and remained unbeaten on 33. “It was not an easy pitch to play on. The bounce was uneven,” Sarbartha told The Telegraph later.

Crowning moment: Subhomoy Mukherjee, captain of the BHF XI, holds aloft the Bengal British Heritage Cup as his teammates, opponents and organisers cheer. Courtesy: Bengal Heritage Foundation

BHF captain Subhomoy Mukherjee, who had mooted the idea of the match, said: “It was a fun occasion but we were competitive.” His elder son Srinjoy took a fine catch and was adjudged the best fielder while Amit Sengupta of the British side was named the best bowler. Judhajit was the best batsman.

“This is a part of our endeavour to promote healthy living. Bengalis, after all, are known to exercise only their jaw muscles,” chuckled BHF director Anirban Kumar Mukhopadhyay. “We have started a football tournament in the UK called IFA Shield UK. For cricket, we sounded out the British Council here which readily agreed,” he added. Debanjan Chakrabarti, the Council director for east and northeast India, turned up in his university blazer and opened the batting for the team.

Low proposed to make the match an annual event. “It was a great match on a perfect day. We will build on this relationship with BHF,” he said.