After weeks of ‘fighting’ to book a spot in the finals of the Laluni T20 Cricket Tournament, Rising Stars and Laluni eventually emerged as the teams to face off against each other in the final match being played at the Laluni Ground.
The game was reduced to 12 overs per side because the ground had been ravaged by intermittent showers on the eve of the finale. Rising Stars won the toss and, expecting to dominate the opposition on a sticky wicket, decided to bat first.
With an unfortunate history of contesting final matches in 2019 only to lose and settle for runners-up, Rising Stars had jagged nerves coming up against Laluni, and their batting failed miserably as they were bundled out for 60 in their allotted 12 overs.
The victorious Rising Stars team
No batsman could reach a competitive total, except George Carrington who played a resistant 27 (2×6 1×4), and Darren France, who chipped in with 19 (2×6) at the back end of the innings.
The chief tormentor from Laluni was Troy (only name), who bagged impressive figures of 4-8 in his three overs.
Needing 61 for victory off 72 balls, at 5.08 runs per over, the Laluni side were considered as having the match in the bag. They, however, were never able to get going as the Rising Stars bowlers, maintaining a disciplined line and length, skittled out Laluni for a mere 49 runs, with no batsman making any significant contribution.
Bowling for Rising Stars, Marvin Cheong took 3-5 in 3 overs, including a hat trick; Shane Persaud took 3-13 in 3 overs, and Shaquille Brisport took 2-15. Rising Stars won the match by 11 runs.
It is worth mentioning that the Rising Stars have previously had outstanding performances from players such as Marvin Cheong, who has proven to be an exceptional wicket-taker; Keon Roberts, Travis Cato, Shaquille Brisport and Shane Persaud, all of whom have proven their worth with bat and ball respectively.
