McGill Super Stars dominate opening match with 80-run win

West Demerara Cricket Assn. T20 competition for 2020…

McGill Super Stars Sports Club have opened their West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) 2020 T20 campaign on a high note: by inflicting an 80-run defeat on Christ Ambassadors Sports Club (CASC) in the opening game of the season.

With the game — played at the Belle Vue Sports Club Ground — reduced to 15 overs a side because of a late start to proceedings, Mc Gill won the toss and chose to bat, racing to 150-5 after their 15 overs had expired.
The Canal #1 unit got off to a quick start, but lost two wickets in the power play overs. Skipper Sudesh Persaud, who contributed 10, was caught at long-on off the bowling of medium-pacer Lester Christian in the third over, when 25 runs were recorded on the board; and former Guyana Under-19 Captain Travis Persaud, who contributed 13, fell in the 4th over to Kevin Paul, when the score had to be adjusted to 32-2.
Razack and Deen then joined forces to put together a 33-run, third-wicket partnership that took the score to 65 in the 8th over, before Razack fell LBW to Emmanuel Martin after scoring 23.
Troy Persaud and Azar Deen then took the McGill score to 86 in the 10th over, before Persaud was bowled for three by Kenton Boyce.
Former Guyana Under-19 all-rounder Basdeo and Deen then rallied McGill to 127 in the 13th over by producing a blistering partnership of 41 off 18 balls, before Paul bowled Basdeo for 27.
Mc Gill eventually finished their 15 overs on 150-5, with Azar Deen having contributed a quick-fire unbeaten 48 not out and the innings having received support from Daniel Basdeo with 27 and Abdul Razack with 23.
The CASC bowling was spearheaded by Kevin Paul with 2-17 and Emmanuel Martin with 1-16.
The Christ Ambassadors Sports Club (CASC) had a slow start to their innings. Chasing a mammoth total of 151 in 15 overs, the opening pace-and-spin combination of former national players Daniel Basdeo and Travis Persaud proved too much for them, and they could not keep up with the run rate, even from the start of their innings.
In the third over, when the recorded score was 9, Basdeo uprooted the stumps of Emmanuel Martin, who departed without scoring; and with assistance from Persaud, continued to strangle the CASC batting line-up with good precision and accuracy.
CASC struggled to record 34 in the 8th over before former national under-19 all-rounder Kheshram Seyhodan had Jay Benit caught at long-on for 22.
Seyhodan struck again in that same over, when the CASC score had to be adjusted to 35-3 after he had removed Melroy Alert, trapped leg-before without scoring.
CASC skipper Selwyn John, who contributed 19, tried to steady his team’s ship, but fell to medium-pacer Azar Deen at 56-4 in the 13th over. In that same over, Deen removed Paul for three when he had him caught at long-off with the score on 59-5.
The CASC innings eventually closed at 70-6 when their 15 overs had expired.
Bowling for McGill, Azar Deen took 2-10, Kheshram Seyhodan took 2-22, and Daniel Basdeo took 1-4.