Jai Hind Jaguars brush Bel Air Rubis to clinch semi-final spot

GCB Tropical Springs O-40 T20 tournament…

Story and photos by Brandon Corlette

It was another dominant display by the undefeated Jai Hind Jaguars who cruised to a six-wicket win over Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec, with 2.5 overs to spare, in pursuit of 128.

After a 30-minute delay to the start owing to Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr’s visit, Bel Air Rubis won the toss and took first strike, scoring 127-8 in 20 overs with Arthur Duke top-scoring with 46.
Narine Deonarine, releasing his off-spin from a high point, took two early wickets to unsettle the Bel Air Rubis team at 3-2. The Jai Hind bowlers kept it tight, but Richard Ramdeen (22) structured a rebuilding effort.

Some sharp fielding saw Jai Hind making inroads in the middle as Bel Air were reduced to 52-6 in 12 overs. Then, batting at number six, Duke opened his arms, slamming four sixes in his entertaining 46. The well-built Duke forged a 59-run partnership with Oslyn Batson (26*). Deonarine was the pick of the bowlers with 2-7 in his three overs while Deofrakdash had 2-17. Michael Chinsammy had 1-23.
In reply, Jaguars lost Subramani Mangali for one, but a 72-run second-wicket partnership between opener Imran Husain and Kemraj Sumair kept the Jaguars on target. Hussain, who displayed great sweeping skills, slammed four boundaries and two sixes in his 45.

At 86-4 in the 15th over, the red-hot Anil Beharry came to the crease and took the bowlers to the cleaners with his clean power hitting. Captain Sumair played a responsible innings of 39 not out, and Beharry struck a 10-ball unbeaten 29 to lead Jai Hind into the semi-finals. Chandrite Jeenarine was expensive with 2-34 in three overs.
At the Everest Cricket Club Ground, West Demerara Masters posted 174-7 in 20 overs. Batting for the entirety of his team’s innings, Elroy Fernandes contributed 61 runs, stroking six sixes and three fours. Fazeer Khan, on the bowler’s end, returned figures of 2-13 in three overs.

Imam Bacchus’s team quickly fell at the hands of the WD Masters. Boodram Sugrim, with 3-12, was a force to be reckoned with. Eager to restrict the opposition and lend a helping hand to his colleague, Steve Haripal (2-18) also played an instrumental role. Ramnarine was the sole batsman to attain a reasonable score, hitting two sixes and one four to top his contribution at 20 runs. His team crumbled in 19.4 overs in which they scraped 84 runs, having exhausted their line-up.
Over at the Enmore Community Centre Ground, WD Mavericks, in a reduced 14-over affair, made 93-7, which they hoped would be an uphill battle for their opponents to get. Lalta Sukhnanan struck 45, with David Albert, the only other major contributor, sweeping 14 runs under his name. The Reliance bowlers – namely Premnauth Persaud (2-17); Elroy Stephney (2-18) and Trevis Simon (2-23) – were aggressive in their efforts, to contain the batsmen, and ultimately the score they would have to chase.
In reply, Reliance made 69-8 in their allotted 14 overs. Top scorer Teddy Manchal made 13 before being adjudged leg-before off Devindra Ramdehol (1-20), and his colleagues, Elroy Stephney (12) and Ramesh Narine (11), were also adjudged leg-before off Sohan Bedasi, who was one of the most dominant bowlers, returning figures of 4-4. Mohan Chaitram also sent two batsmen on their way for 18 runs as Mavericks won by 24 runs.
The second scheduled match at Enmore featured West Berbice battling Regal Masters. West Berbice won the toss and elected to bat. Their innings ended at 81-7 in the allotted 20 overs.
Opening batsmen Rajban Hemraj (29) and Trevor Crawford (26) contributed the most significant scores for their respective teams. On the bowling end, Chien Gittens (2-9) collected one wicket more than his peers.
Regal Masters raced to their target, which was achieved in just 9.1 overs to hand themselves a win by nine wickets. Positioning his team for victory was Gittens with 48 runs, before Hemraj (1-18) sent him on his way. Anthony Ifill and Roy Persaud together led the way to victory, contributing 21 and 8 runs respectively.
The semi-finals will see West Demerara Masters battling West Demerara Mavericks while Jai Hind Jaguars will face Regal Masters. The proposed dates for the semi-final is Saturday, December 12; the venue will be announced at a later date. The grand final is set for Sunday, December 13.