The sport of cricket is a virtual unknown commodity in the United States. But in several places around the world, cricket is not only popular, but a way of life.

Elizabeth City may be one of the most unlikely places for cricket to emerge, but the core of one of the region's better clubs resides right here. Elizabeth City State University math professor Dipendra Sengupta, along with several of his compatriots, has brought a cricket championship to Elizabeth City.

Submitted photo (ENLARGE)

The Elizabeth City Tigers pose with their trophy after winning the inaugural Hampton Roads Cricket Tournament.

The Elizabeth City Tigers won the inaugural Hampton Roads Cricket Tournament, beating the Yorktown Heroes, 107-77, in the final held in Chesapeake, Va.

"We were the least favorite in the tournament because nobody believed we could play and win the game," Sengupta said.

Team captain Sam Patel, Varun Patel, Vinod Parmer, Harsh Patel, Hashmukh Patel, Hitesh Patel, Nitant Desai, Vishy Krishnomurti, Bhumin and Sengupta represented Elizabeth City during the tournament. Varun Patel was named tournament MVP. Seven of the men call Elizabeth City home.

The Tigers opened the 12-team tournament with a win over the Chetan Blues, the team tabbed as the tournament favorites, then followed with a tiebreaker victory over the Chesapeake Panthers. In the semifinals, the Tigers knocked off the ODU Lions, a team comprised of mostly college students from Old Dominion University.

"I'm 53 years old, and we're supposed to play the game," Sengupta said. "There is a lot of athleticism there, but it's also technique. Technique is very, very important. Even at my age, the kind of technique I have, I can fool some people."

The Tigers won, 87-85.

The origins of the team can be traced back about seven years ago. Sengupta tried to establish a club here and Northeastern High School allowed the few men involved to practice there. Interest was low, however, and after a year the club moved to Virginia Beach, where there were many people wanting to play. Now, there are three teams in the Hampton Roads Cricket Organization with possibly more on the horizon.

"When I sent the e-mail that we were going to have this tournament, the response was so great," Sengupta said. "We did not know the other teams out there that play, they don't play in the league, they play in their area. It was all over Hampton Roads."

The HRCO is a part of a larger league, the Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference, which has 33 teams in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. There are clubs in the MACC based at Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina.

"Basically, (cricket) is a cultural thing," Sengupta said. "Cricket in India is a religion. India is different countries together to make one country. Our languages are different and food is different from one place to the other place. When we meet here, we can talk about cricket and we are all in the same place."