Punching above its weight

CHENNAI: The iconic commentary piece “This was not meant to happen. This could not happen, but this is happening” would have been fitting for MRC A’s championship-winning moment in the TNCA First Division final in Chennai on Friday.

After just escaping the drop in the previous season – 2019/20 – MRC A was expectedly not part of title conversations that generally include big boys Jolly Rovers CC and Vijay CC.

However, MRC A, in just its third season in the premier division, punched above its weight to clinch its maiden Rajah of Palayampatti Shield and write an underdog victory story.

The 2021/22 First Division triumph is the fruit of the seed that was sown in 2015, when the then Fourth Division club MRC A was bought by Take Solutions. MRC A head coach VRS Guru Kedarnath, in a telephonic conversation with DT Next, described the journey as “fantastic”.

“The management wanted the team to play in the First Division. The vision was there from the beginning. We moved from the Fourth Division (2015) to the First Division (2018) in a matter of three years. In our third year in the First Division, we managed to get the title. Winning the First Division is a phenomenal achievement,” said former Tamil Nadu player Kedarnath, who has been associated with MRC A since 2017.

“In the First Division, we are a baby. In education terms, we are yet to get to LKG (laughs). All said and done, Jolly Rovers and Vijay dominate the First Division. They have a huge reputation. It is extremely satisfying to beat them on the way to the title,” added Kedarnath.

“We tried to play our brand of cricket – fearless – irrespective of whom the opponent was. The intent remained the same. We had a team environment where everyone looked after each other. We played as a ‘team’. That is why different players stood up for us in different matches and won them,” he explained.

In Kedarnath’s book, MRC A topped the chart in the Board exams despite being way too younger and inexperienced than its heavyweight competitors. So, how did the Ravichandran Ashwin-led team pull a rabbit out of the hat in the just concluded season?

“The amount of hard work we put in after the end of the first phase (which got over in September 2021) was immense; we trained non-stop. And, that paid dividends. We knew there were no matches [between October 2021 and April 2022]; we had the time. We worked on fitness and skills day in and day out. With regards to fitness, we had certain benchmarks. We dedicated the first four weeks exclusively for fitness. Then, we started skill work. We trained every day,” Kedarnath shared MRC A’s secret to success.

“On the whole (the last few years), it was a process. Most of the players have been with the team for the last two years. It took some time for them to get to the First Division level and become performers or match-winners,” said Kedarnath.

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