Cavaliers defeat US Allstars as Hemraj, Imran, Stewart shine
US Open 2020 cricket…
The Somerset Cavaliers, continuing their top form, have registered their second win in as many matches in the US Open 2020 cricket tournament. On this occasion, they defeated the US Allstars by 9 runs, thanks to the efforts of Guyana’s very own Chandrapaul Hemraj, who contributed with both bat and ball, and Ali Imran and Navin Stewart, who registered impressive performances.
Batting first, the Cavaliers lost the burly Kenar Lewis for 12, but his opening partner Chandrapaul Hemraj played the role of anchor and got his team off to a decent start. His impactful contribution of 43 runs off 35 balls, which included 2 boundaries and 3 maximums, set the tone for the Cavaliers’ innings.
Andre Russell scored 19 and picked up 2 wickets
And when the wicket of Hemraj had finally fallen, Ali Imran blasted a quickfire 49 runs off 30 balls, which included one boundary and 4 maximums. This, together with Andre Russell’s 19 and Gudakesh Motie’s 14, propelled the Cavaliers to 154-7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Bowling for the Allstars, Rajesh Sharma took 2-21, Zishawn Qureshi took 3-35, and Ali Khan took 1-31.
Needing 158 for victory, the Allstars had the worst possible start to their innings, as they lost Qureshi to Fidel Edwards for a golden duck; and although a few mini partnerships were put together, those did little to influence the eventual outcome of the game.
Chandrapaul Hemraj scored 43 and picked up a wicket
Bowling for the Cavaliers, Navin Stewart was most effective in restricting the Allstars team. When Jaskashan Malothra came to the crease, he gave the Allstars hope as he smacked a patient 53, but as he was looking to carry on, Andre Russell dented the innings even further by picking up a couple of wickets. To make matters worse, Hemraj and Motie then chipped in with one wicket each, to ensure the final nail was driven in the coffin of the Allstars.
In the end, the Allstars were bowled out for 145-8, and lost the game by 9 runs. The Cavaliers’ Navin Stewart returned figures of 3-23; Andre Russell, 2-16; Fidel Edwards, 1-26; Gudakesh Motie, 1-29; and Chandrapaul Hemraj, 1-17.
The Cavaliers now have two wins from two games played.
