HSBC charity auction for tsunami gets good response

For once cricket played second fiddle to golf. Sachin got relegated to second position as Colin Montgomerie's driver captured the limelight and interest of avid golfers and got sold for a handsome Rs 1.5 lakh.

At HSBC's charity auction on Sunday, Tendulkar's bat was picked up by Satish Tandon, CEO, Alfa Laval, for Rs 1.25 lakh.

Teeing off the charity auction for tsunami victims, Niall S K Booker, group general manager and CEO, HSBC India, put in the highest bid for Rahul Dravid's cricket bat.

Dravid used the bat in the 2003 World Cup match against Pakistan. The various autographed memorabilia of sports heroes helped HSBC raise Rs 7.21 lakh for tsunami victims.

Avid cricket and gold fans bid aggressively at the unique charity auction. India's vice-captain Dravid's bat went for Rs 80,000, while the Sunil Gavaskar's bat was sold for Rs 50,000.

Golf superstars such as Jeev Milkha Singh's putter (Rs 55,000) and Todd Hamilton's British Open flag for the 18th hole which he had won (Rs 1.05 lakh) attracted heavy bidding.

Other items included Jeev Milkha Singh's driver (Rs 30,000) with which he won the Lexus International, Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup T-Shirt (Rs 35,000), and a unique addition of two VIP tickets with two nights stay at the Crowne Plaza in Beijing for the Johnnie Walker Classic, scheduled for April 18-24 (Rs 42,000).

HSBC had organised an exclusive golf day for its key customers who got a chance to play 2 holes each with Montgomerie, one of the greatest golfers in the world.

Monty has earned more money than any other British golfer in history and more than any other golfer ever on the European Tour.