Team Guyana Conquer Pakistan To Take Title

Global T20 | Scorecard
By Sam Sooppersaud
The last (apparently) hurrah for the 2014 cricket season was sounded last Sunday, October 19, at the Baisley Park Cricket Field, with the playing of the finals in the inaugural Global T20 Cricket Tournament. The tourney commenced the day before, on Saturday, October 18th, with a preliminary match between two of the five franchises.  Teams: India, Pakistan, Guyana, Bangladesh, and Rest of the World.

Troy Mars named MVP of the tournament taking 3 for 23 and hitting 19 not out in the finals. Photos Shiek Mohamed

In the Saturday game, The Rest of the World was victorious over Team India. In fact, India conceded the game after batting a dozen overs chasing a Rest of the World total of 202 runs. India was in such a precarious position that walking away was their best alternative. Earlier in the day India defeated the New York Cricket Academy in a friendly encounter.  The Academy scored 120 runs, with India replying with 122 for the loss of only five wickets.

On Sunday, October 19, the Rest of the World took on Team Guyana in one of the two semi-finals. Rest of the World took first knock, but Guyana had the upper hand in the match all the way to the end of the 19th over. At this point Rest of the World had 130 runs for the loss of six wickets. At that rate of scoring a total of less that 140 was predicted.  The Guyana bowlers had a stranglehold on the Rest of the World batsmen. They could not break loose.

However, in the 20th over, the clouds opened up and it rained 6s.  Skipper Zamin Amin called upon Dominique Rikhi to bowl that fateful over. The batsman was G. Blackwood. Rikhi ran up, delivered the ball, which was dispatched for a six over long on.  Ditto, Ditto. Ditto. The first four balls of Rikhi’s over were hit in nearly the identical area for 6s. Four balls 24 runs. Fifth ball 2 runs, and a single off the last ball. 27 runs in the over. Final score 157 runs. A defendable total.

When Guyana batted they immediately found themselves in difficulty. They lost wickets at regular intervals. But, in the end, due to some lusty hitting by Terence Madramootoo, they were able to squeeze pass the Rest of the World total to win the match. The victory was not without some anxious and scary moments for Team Guyana. With three overs to be bowled Guyana needed 30 runs. Three runs in the 18th over, 27 runs needed in 12 balls.  16 runs came in the 19th over, leaving 11 to get in 6 balls. First ball from Blackwood was deposited over the wide mid-on boundary for a maximum. Now 5 runs in 5 balls, a walk in the park.  Towards the end of this contest, word came from Idlewild Park, Queens, that Pakistan had convincingly defeated their semi-finals opponents Team Bangladesh.  In 14.3 overs Pakistan were able to score the 146 runs need for victory, Bangladesh having scored 145 in their 20 overs. This then set up the finals: Team Guyana taking on Team Pakistan.

Michael Noble had figures of 2 for 22.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to take first knock. The Guyana bowlers cut into their opponents’ batting, with some very accurate bowling from Troy Mars (3 for 23) and Michael Noble (2 for 22), which helped restrict the Pakistani batsmen. Soon after, wickets fell at regular intervals. By the end of the 10th over they had lost five of their top order batsmen for 57 runs. Still to bat were their four bowlers and an all-rounder, W. Munir.  The last three batsmen added 39 runs to the score. Pakistan ended their inning at 121 runs. R. Ahmad 18, W. Munir 17, A. Nosherwan 15.  A. Stoll 1 for 22 and T. Madramootoo 1 for 21, each completing their four over allotments.

Needing 122 runs for victory seemed an easy task for a chasing side. The Guyana boys felt confident that they could overtake that total without any problem. However, some fans kept saying that chasing a small total can be a problem for the batsmen. The reason being that they would be unsure as to whether to go all out and blast the bowling or to just rotate the ball, with a few boundaries, here and there. This theory seem to work for Pakistan. Team Guyana batted cautiously, but kept losing wickets. However, opener Dominique Rikhi stuck in at the crease, while rotating the strike.

With 16 overs bowled, Guyana was 98 for 5. At this point of the game the Pakistani boys seemed to have gotten a second wind, judging from their body language. It was down to 24 balls to get 24 runs: a run-a-ball. But Troy Mars, an aggressive, hard-hitting batsman was at the wicket, Rikhi, having been long gone. Troy decided to “cool it”. He batted watchfully, getting singles and a double now and again.

It came down to 10 runs needed in 7 balls. Then 9 runs needed off 6 balls. First ball in the 20th over, a boundary. Now 4 runs required off of 5 balls.  A dot ball, then 4 runs needed in 4 balls. Two wades resulted from the next two deliveries, then a dot ball. It was then down to 2 runs needed off 3 balls. Dot ball. Two runs in two balls for victory. Troy drove the fifth ball of the over to the long on boundary. Guyana 124 for 7 in 19.5 overs. Team Guyana cruised to the Global T20 Tournament, with one ball to spare.

In the presentation ceremony following the game the sponsors thanked everyone for making the tournament a success. Individual awards were presented: Best Bowling Troy Mars, 3 for 23, D. Rikhi, Best Batsman 41 runs. Most Valuable Player, Troy Mars, 3 for 23 and 19 runs Not Out. The Championship Trophy was presented to Zamin Amin, captain of Team Guyana.

It was an exciting two days of cricket. Cricket fans came out in large numbers for the two days to watch the games. The weather was a bit blustery but that did not deter the fans. They simply love their cricket!