– Defending champs through to final
By Marlon Munroe
Trinidad & Tobago’s (T&T) Captain Daren Ganga led from the front with a resilient unbeaten 79 as T&T recorded a two wicket victory over Barbados to book their place in the final of the WICB President’s Cup limited-overs Tournament at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence last evening.
Man-of-the-match Ganga, faced 105 balls striking three boundaries, steered his team to 230-8 in 49.2 overs even as wickets fell regularly around him.
Dave Mohammed, who was left undefeated on 18, hit a six over long on to level the scores before Ganga punched Dwayne Smith to mid on for the winning run.
The Champions League Twenty20 runners-up now await the winner of the second semi-final today between Guyana and the Combined Campuses and Colleges team at the same venue and in another day/night encounter.
Kevin Stoute and Nikoli Charles were the pick of the bowlers with 2-36 and 2-37 respectively while Smith, Khaled Springer and Sulieman Benn supported with one wicket apiece.
Barbados, winning the toss and batting in front of a sprinkling of spectators, reached 229 all out with openers Martin Nurse (46) and Kirk Edwards (41) and Captain Ryan Hinds (44) all getting starts.
All rounder Dwayne Bravo, who was twice on a hat-trick, grabbed 6-46 from 9.5 overs and Ravi Rampaul 3-50.
When Trinidad & Tobago batted, opener Simmons played an array of majestic shots especially through the cover region off Barbadian opening bowlers Springer and Smith.
However, T&T lost two quick wickets when Adrian Barath was run out for 11 with the score was 42 in 8.5 overs and Darren Bravo caught behind by Carlo Morris for one, one run later.
The introduction of the left-arm orthodox spinner Hinds saw Simmons gliding a delivery to third man before producing an exquisite cover drive later in the over.
However, in the next over Simmons was bowled by Benn for a well played 40 which included five fours.
Ganga and the older Bravo, Dwayne, worked the ball around the field, ran well between the wickets and picked up the odd boundary. The T&T’s hundred came courtesy of two audacious boundaries from Dwayne Bravo in the 17th over but shortly after he was caught at extra cover by Hinds for 32, which consisted of four boundaries.
Big hitter Keiron Pollard was bowled without scoring after playing an unsightly swipe to leg spinner Charles in the 29th over but Ganga and Denesh Ramdin attempted to change the tide after Trinidad slipped to 131-5 in the 29th over.
But Ganga lost Ramdin for 20 caught at extra cover by Benn off Kevin Stoute and Samuel Badree for three caught behind also off Stoute.
The skipper and younger brother Sherwin saw the team’s 200 in the 42nd over before Sherwin Ganga playing across the line of the delivery, was trapped lbw for 11 by Springer with 28 more runs required for victory.
Earlier, Barbados’ openers Edwards and Nurse worked around the ball but their running was sometimes indecisive until Nurse hit leg-spinner Badree, who also shared the new ball with pacer Rampaul, over midwicket for six to bring up the team’s 50 in the 11th over. While the spinners Sherwin Ganga and Mohammed, operating in tandem kept things tight, it was medium pacer Bravo who effected the breakthrough having Nurse lbw for 46 to break an 85-run first-wicket stand.
Nurse struck four boundaries and two sixes from 63 balls.
Edwards was next to go caught at cover by Daren Ganga off Simmons for 41 from 74 balls.
Alcindo Holder then chipped medium pacer Bravo to Barath who took the catch running in from long off. He made 23 from 38 balls.
Hinds, striking the ball cleanly, was dropped by Sherwin Ganga off Simmons and rubbed salt into the wounds with a drive through the covers and then a pull to the backward square boundary off consecutive balls.
Left hander Jonathan Carter joined in hitting Ganga for sixes over long off and long on off successive balls in the 42nd over before he was lbw to Rampaul for 27.
Dwayne Smith was run out for three and Morris, dropped by Simmons off Bravo, was caught and bowled by Bravo shortly after.
Simmons redeemed himself when he caught Hinds off Bravo for 44 running in from long on and in the last over, Bravo bowled Stoute and Charles with consecutive deliveries to record the first five-wicket haul of the tournament.
Scoreboard
Simmons supported with 2-30.
Barbados innings
M. Nurse lbw Dw. Bravo 46
K. Edwards c D. Ganga b Simmons 41
A. Holder c Barath b Bravo 23
R. Hinds c Simmons b Bravo 44
J. Carter lbw Rampaul 27
D. Smith c wkp Ramdin b Rampaul 3
C. Morris c & b Bravo 21
K. Stoute b Bravo 2
S. Benn b Rampaul 0
K. Springer not out 6
N. Charles b Bravo 0
Extras: (w-7, nb-2, lb-7) 16
Total: (all out from 49.5 overs) 229
FOW: 1-85 (Nurse 20.4), 2-100 (Edwards 26.1), 3-136 (Holder 34.3), 4-184 (Carter 42.5), 5-192 (Smith 45.3), 6-221 (Hinds), 7-221 (Morris), 8-221 (Benn), 9-229 (Stoute), 10-229 (Charles)
Bowling
R. Rampaul 9-0-50-3 (2 nb)
S. Badree 7-0-27-0 (1 w)
S. Ganga 8-0-41-0
D. Mohammed 10-2-30-0 (3 wides)
D.J. Bravo 9.5-0-46-6
L. Simmons 6-0-28-1
Trinidad & Tobago innings
L. Simmons b Benn
A. Barath run out 11
D. M. Bravo c wkp Morris b Smith 1
D. Ganga not out 79
D.J. Bravo c Hinds b Charles 32
K. Pollard b Charles 0
D. Ramdin c Benn b Stoute
S. Badree c wkp Morris b Stoute 3
S. Ganga lbw Springer 11
D. Mohammed not out 18
Extras: (w-11, lb-1) 12
Totals: (for 8 wickets from 49.2 overs) 230
FOW: 1-42 (Barath 8.5), 2-43 (D.M. Bravo 9.5), 3-78 (Simmons 14.2), 4-127 (D.W. Bravo 26.2), 5-131 (Pollard 28.5), 6-165 (Ramdin 35.3), 7-175 (Badree 38), 8-202 (S. Ganga 44)
Bowling
K. Springer 10-0-31-1 (1 w)
D. Smith 8.2-0-48-1 (3 w)
R. Hinds 10-0-33-0
S. Benn 7-0-44-1
N. Charles 10-1-37-2 (2 w)
K. Stoute 4-0-36-2 (5 w)
