Written by Aravind Krishnan

The first round of Brazilian national T20 championship of 2015 was held during the 4th & 5th of July in Brasilia. There were 5 teams in total representing Sao Paulo, Distrito Federal, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Amazonas. The tournament saw Manaus CC make their debut in the national championship.

For the first time the national championship is being played in two rounds, the first round that took place in Brasilia, earlier this month, and the second round which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in November 2015. 10 matches were played between the 5 teams in two days at Club Nipo and Esplanada cricket ground. A total of 2650 runs were scored with 102 sixes and 148 wickets were taken in the two days of cricket. On the evening of 4th July, the club organized a social dinner with typical India food served at the Asharam Restaurant for the players, their friends and their families.

The last match of the tournament, played on 5th July, saw Sao Paulo CC and Brasilia CC, both with 3 wins each, compete for their fourth win. After scoring a whopping 240 runs in their 20 overs, Sao Paulo survived a Mohammed Umar special to beat Brasilia CC and finished their first round undefeated at Esplanada Cricket Ground in Brasilia. Sao Paulo CC took home the John Landers Shield for leading the points table at the end of the first round of the championship. A big thanks goes to the tournament’s organizing committee, Brasilia Cricket Club and Cricket Brasil for planning and organizing the event. All told, it was a great weekend of Brazilian Cricket and people enjoyed two whole days under outstanding weather conditions.

Tournament scorecards are available at:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/series/893191.html