Regal retain Over-50 title, Speedboat reclaim Open title

PM T20 Cup Finals

— Fisherman Masters new Over-45 champs

By Timothy Jaikarran

A sigh of relief, a breath of fresh air were the actions expressed by the Regal Legends, Speedboat and the Fisherman Masters as they dominated their respective categories at the Everest Cricket Ground and walked away with the handsome sum of $200,000.

Over-50 Category: Regal toy with Savage to retain title
Savage Legends won the spin of the toss and opted to bat first. This seemed a wise decision at first, as Regal Legends have been known to post 200-plus scores in the past. But it seemed that Regal showed up for the final and Savage did not. Their plan of flipping the script on Regal did not go as intended. Savage Legends could only post 126-7 in their allotted overs. Top scoring was Nadir Bash with 31 not out, with Latchman Yadram and Semangal Yadram scoring 24 each. Bowling were Parsran Persaud (2-14); Mahendra Hardyal (2-28) and Eric Thomas (2-11). In reply, Regal got to their target comfortably, ending on 128-5. Their innings was led by the classy batting of Mahesh Chunilall, who scored 51. After his wicket fell, Rudolph Baker chipped in with a quick-fire 27 to help his team over the line and to yet another successive title. Semangal Yadram was the most successful bowler for Savage Legends with excellent figures of 2-21.

Over-45 Category: The Fraser assault, the De Franca-Lewis Scare
This match could have definitely been the plot of a movie; one would go as far as saying that it would have even won an Academy Award. Despite the Fisherman Masters defeating the Wellman Masters, the match was by no means ordinary. Batting first, Fisherman Masters were led by the stylish left-handed Keith Fraser, who made the tournament’s highest score by an individual batsman of 178. His innings was pure aggression, leaving the impression that a left-handed version of Andre Russell had taken to the crease. It rained sixes left, right and centre. In the end, Fraser put his team in a comfortable position with a score of 240-5. The Fisherman Masters then took to the field with a little bounce in their step, but that soon deflated as Greig De Franca and Troy Lewis began their assault; the pair put together a 100-plus partnership. As Lewis brought up his 50 and De Franca his century, chills ran through the Fisherman Masters camp. When De Franca fell for 108, Lewis continued his assault and things reached to the point where Wellman required 11 off the final over. But, alas, Lewis fell for 87 and everything went downhill as Wellman completed their innings on 237-4, handing Fisherman the title.

Open Category: Speedboat reclaim their pride
In the four years the PM T20 competition has been in existence, the Speedboat team have won the first two editions, with a loss to Regal in 2019.

So, this year, they had a point to prove and boy did they prove it, not only was luck on their side, but even Mother Nature showered her affection upon the Speedboat team. Safraz Karim was the star of the show; when all was falling apart, Karim arrived and delivered what would be a match-winning 71 not out.

He was well supported by Ameer Yusuf, who also remained unbeaten on 51, and Speedboat posted 201-6. Needing 202 to win, Regal were cruising along in their chase, but then the rains came and when play resumed, everything changed as the pitch gripped the ball differently, causing trouble for Regal. In the end, Regal folded for 170-6, with the rain-affected conditions contributing largely to their loss. Delroy Perreira led with 47, with a small cameo of 25 by Fazal Rafeik, but no other batsman could rise above the 25-run mark. 

When the matches were all over, the Man-of-the-Series award for the Over-50 Category went to Eric Thomas, who had scores of 117 and 120 and bagged three wickets. He was the winner of a 55-inch 4K smart flatscreen TV. The Man-of-the-Match award went to Mahesh Chunilall for his 51. Regal pocketed $200,000 in prize money while Savage got $50,000.
For the Over-45 Category, Keith Fraser walked away with the bulk of the awards. These included the Man- of-the-Series and Man-of-the-Match awards. Fisherman pocketed $200,000 as the winning side and Wellman $50,000 as the runners-up.
For the Open category, Quintin Sampson was the Man of the Series; he walked away with a 40-inch 4K smart flatscreen TV. The Man-of-the-Match award was given to Safraz Karim for his 71. Speedboat pocketed $200,000 as the first prize and Regal $50,000.