Warriors tie in thriller, remain unbeaten in tournament

Commonwealth Cricket League…
Yutesh “Avi” Dhanpaul, currently playing in the Commonwealth Cricket League in New York with fellow Zeeburg Cricket Club member Balbiner Shivpersaud, has continued to light up the league with his run scoring. But facing Demolition Cricket Club was never an easy task as for the first time in the tournament the Warriors registered a tie in a low-scoring affair.

The match was originally a 30-over affair to be played against the in-form Demolition Cricket Club at the Baisley Park in New York, but overs were reduced to 25 each because of the vagaries of the weather. The Warriors won the toss and elected to bat with the intention of setting a target in the 250-run range to give their opponents a challenge. They, however, were unable to tap into their full potential, as Demolition drew first blood, capitalised on the ‘powerplay’ overs, and picked up a few wickets. Forced on the defensive, the Warriors found the going too tough for their liking, as, whenever a partnership was budding, Demolition would dent the Warriors’ hopes of achieving a challenging total. The Warriors could only muster 121 all out in 24.5 overs with Rajendra Khan making 40, Chanderpaul Persaud 33 and Cornelius Jaisingh 15. Bowling for Demolition were Kevin Jawahir –3 for 10 – with his leg spin and Jafferally (only name) – 3 for 12.
Needing a total of 122 for victory, the Demolition innings got off to the same start as the Warriors’. For most of the match-up, their innings mirrored their opponents’. Key partnerships were made, but somehow were thrown away by reckless shots. The Demolition side showed no intent of winning the match; however, with nine wickets down and one more run to win off the last two balls, the Warriors managed to strike and secure a tie. Which meant that their undefeated streak was not tarnished. Demolition in reply made 121 all out in 24.5 overs. Top scoring were Colin Duke (23) and Danile Barker (14). Bowling for WCW were Anil Sookdeo (3 for 23 from 5 overs); Vickash Dhaniram (3 for 24 from 5) and Dhanpaul (2 for 16 from 5).