PM T20 Cup: Eight teams book final spots in respective categories, despite rain

By Timothy Jaikarran

The PMT20 Cup has commenced with a bang, and all the teams went head-to-head on day one. In the end, the best of the best remained on top of the table. However, on the second day, it was crunch time, as the top teams duked it out in the semifinals to book their spots in the grand finale, to be played at the National Stadium at Providence, EBD.

In the semifinal fixtures, the teams that book their spots in their respective finals were: Regal Legends and New York Softball Cricket League in the O50 category; 4R and Trophy Stall in the ladies’ category; Regal Masters and Ariel Masters in the O40 category; and Name Brand and Guyana Knight Riders Ariel All-Stars in the Open category.
In the Legends category, Regal Legends will now play New York Softball Cricket League in the final today. In the over-50 semifinal category, played at MYO, Parika Defenders made 136-8 in 15 overs, batting first. Oswald Chandla scored 44, as Eric Thomas took 2-14. Regal Legends responded with 141-5 in 10.5 overs. Mohendra Arjune led with 39, and Ramesh Narine scored 32. Chandla took two wickets.
At Eve Leary, NYSCL managed 138-8 in 15 overs. Ravi Sahadeo scored 41 as Mahase Chunilall picked up 3-16. East Coast Legends were bowled out for 85 in 13.1 overs in reply. Chunilall made 31. Quayam Farouk, Doodnauth Nandalall, Jagdesh Persaud and Ronald Evelyn each took two wickets.

In the first semifinal in the ladies’ category, Upper Demerara Allstars duked it out with 4R. Upper Demerara posted 83 all-out in 10 overs, of which Natalia Hall top-scored with 20. Bowling for 4R, L Smith took 2-14 and H Mohammed took 2-16.
In the chase 4R were too hot to handle, and ended on 84-3 in 9 overs. Leading the charge for 4R was J Vanserima with 17 and A. Scott with 15.
In the other game, in which East Coast Warriors played Trophy Stall, East Coast ended on 81-7, and in reply Trophy Stall scored 82 without loss in 9.2 overs. This means that Trophy Stall and 4R will now face off in the final.
In the open semifinals at Queen’s College, Ariel batted first and posted 171-7 off their reduced quota of 12 overs. Jonathan Fernandes made 63, while Keon Sinclair scored 45 and Zamal Khan made 18 not out. Asif Hyman took 2-50.
In reply, Speedboat were bowled out for 82 in 9.5 overs. Davendra Mohan made 18 and Safaz Esau made 12. Eon Hooper grabbed 4-34, Keyon Sinclair took 3-19, and Jonathan Fernandes took 2-17.
In the other game, Regal batted first and managed 131-6 in 12 overs. Sachin Singh made 49, Delroy Perreira made 24 and Fazal Rafiek made 22 not out. J Sampson and K Gangaram each took two wickets.
Name Brand responded with 136-4 in 11.4 overs. S Sukul made 48, while A. Judister scored 25 and K Gangaram 23. Kevin Orford took two wickets.
Regal and Ariel will play in the Over-40 final, after winning their respective semifinal games.
Also sharing her thoughts on the lucrative tournament was GSCL Inc Organising Secretary Telesha Ousman Yamin, who thanked God for maintaining good weather so the tournament could get underway. She said she is very optimistic that excellent days of play are ahead, especially with the finals set for today at the National Stadium.
“We are expecting lots of support at the Guyana National Stadium. For two years, cricket was played under strict restrictions with COVID-19. But with everything open up, we are expecting a big crowd and lots of support for the teams,” Yamin shared.
She explained that what has most impressed her is the level of play from the teams. She explained that softball has evolved, as teams are coming from all over the world and the players are upping their game, which impresses her with the level of maturity they have shown.