Gurdaspur’s senior cricketers rose to the occasion on the big stage to finish runners-up in the Punjab inter-district cricket championship for the prestigious Katoch Shield.For minnows Gurdaspur, finishing second is an achievement in itself. Teams taking part in the tournament have a fair sprinkling of India players in their ranks. This team had no star player.The stage could not have been bigger. The Katoch Shield is considered the ultimate trophy of cricketing supremacy in the state.There is nothing wrong with finishing second. “Your best effort is all that anyone is asking for. And if you give your best and you come in second, you come in third, you come in last, it is not about winning or losing. It is about giving it everything you’ve got,” said coach Rakesh Marshal.For several decades, teams from cricket-playing districts such as Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana have normally laid their hands on the tournament. Gurdaspur was not even considered among the better outfits until the Rakesh Marshal-coached side reached the final this time.Underdogs, or less-favoured cricket teams, often win major tournaments through peak performance, better tactics and resilience under pressure. These were the main characteristics of the Gurdaspur team.The team hit peak form when it mattered most. Its cricketers shone during the tournament’s final stages. Their unusual, and sometimes highly unorthodox, strategies caught cricketing powerhouses off guard.When the Katoch Shield commenced, Gurdaspur were rank outsiders. Their chances of reaching the final seemed as unlikely as sighting an igloo in the Sahara. The team eventually finished second after losing to Mohali by just eight runs in the final at the PCA Stadium in Mullanpur.If Gurdaspur had cricketers whose names were not known to other teams, Mohali had a star-studded line-up. The team was led by Indian cricketer Ramandeep Singh and had at least three cricketers who had played in the last edition of the IPL.Earlier, in a league match, India batsman Abhishek Sharma, known for launching a blitzkrieg at the drop of a hat, failed to make an impact.Playing for Amritsar, Sharma tried to pulverise the Gurdaspur attack after hitting two sixes. As luck would have it, he was dismissed after scoring only a few runs. A huge crowd had assembled at the Gurdaspur Government College ground to see him bat. Sharma was playing days after scoring a mammoth double century in the same tournament. Once he was caught and bowled, the crowd simply dispersed.The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) selectors have now selected three Gurdaspur boys — leg-spinner Raghu Shivam Sharma, left-handed all-rounder Madhav Pathania and medium-pacer Loverkeerat Singh — to attend the state camp. The Punjab Ranji Trophy team will be selected after the camp.Raghu Sharma has turned out for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, besides playing in the Ranji Trophy. He produced a superb performance to upset the applecart of many fancied outfits. He practises one of the game’s most difficult arts: right-arm leg-spin.He flighted the ball, created drift that deceived batsmen and turned the ball square off the wicket. The youngster has a smooth, balanced run-up. He uses his non-bowling arm to provide power and balance and to achieve a better release and drop of the ball on the pitch.There were two other boys whose contributions were unmatched, although they were never considered for the state camp. Arjun Marshal scored 378 runs in the championship at an average of 94.90, with 102 being his highest score. Arush Sabharwal, a middle-order batsman and off-spinner, also did well. Both are young and have talent in abundance. Hopefully, they will find a place in the Punjab team next season.Small towns and emerging cities are producing top-tier cricket stars and challenging established teams because of wider talent scouting and fierce personal drive.Coach Marshal said cricketers from big cities have several career paths, while players from cities such as Gurdaspur view cricket as the primary route to success.“Our players display a fierce energy and a fearless approach to the game. Yet another factor is that large cities face the problem of vanishing open grounds, whereas smaller towns still have local ‘maidans’ that enable cricketers to practise for long hours.“Gurdaspur’s former Deputy Commissioner (DC), Himanshu Aggarwal, provided us with equipment such as a bowling machine, an electronic scoreboard and a speed gun to measure the speed of fast bowlers. He bolstered Gurdaspur cricket like nobody else. Needless to say, in the long run, this equipment helped the players practise even in the rain.”