Sham Ali
(Celebrating 47th Anniversary – 20260705. Match #1360): - A tricky wicket often produces low scores and makes for exciting finishes, and that was certainly the case last Sunday when Cosmos took on Eagles at Roy Wilkins Park. After five days of sweltering heat in the upper nineties and humidity that greeted the United States of America two hundred and fiftieth independence anniversary celebration, Cosmos celebrated this July 4th with their annual Family Day match at Gateway Park on Saturday, and on Sunday returned to regular competition.

Heavy overnight showers brought some relief, but the heat and humid remained with overcast conditions. Cosmos got off to a good start after Devindra Balgobin won the toss and elected to bat with Antanio Rooplall and Govin Persaud posted 37 in 6 overs, despite the wicket showing some indication that there are some devils under the matting with uneven bounce and deviation. Persaud was first to go when he played across to a full delivery and lost his leg stump.  Rooplall then went when he guided a bouncer to the man at deep third-man. 
Bavesh Utam delivered an economical spell of 2 for 23, providing his side with a bright spot despite ending up on the losing side. Photo by Sham Ali

Vian Gooniah and Akash Rahim buckled down to counter with a gritty 56 runs partnership against a bowling attack that kept tidy line with the pitch asking a series of questions as the ball teased the outside edge, and at times it never got up. Gooniah dug one out to more smiles than surprised. At 103 for 2 in 23 overs, one finally sneaked passed Rahim’s (20) defense. However, the Cosmos inning was poised for a late charge and another fifty or sixty runs would have made for a very challenging total. In the quest for quick runs wicket fell at regular intervals. Vian (24) miscued to mid-wicket and Chatram Nauth went via the same route. Devindra Balgobin has the propensity of these late over heroics but that eluded him when he swung and missed at one that didn’t get up, Baveshwar Utam missed a full toss and Vitendra Koomar found the man at deep mid-on before the Cosmos inning closed on 137 for 8 in their allotted 30 overs boosted by 48 extras. V. Persaud took 3 for 18, and J. Ramkaran got 2 for 11.

In their reply, Eagles got off to a shaky start when they lost both openers to Chatram Nauth. Ryan Ganesh held on at extra-cover and Towgeshwar Thakoordeen put in the hard yards from square-leg to mid-wicket when he took off like a tiger in hot pursuit of a kill, and with an outstretched hand he cupped a very good catch, 27 for 2. M. Verasammy and W. Ward then stitched together a crucial 30 runs partnership before Gooniah trapped Ward (2). Thakoordeen then picked up Verasammy on the deep mid-on boundary where Utam glued onto a stinger. 

This match was shaping up for a tense finish with Eagles digging in on 76 for 4 in the 19th over, and Cosmos on the hunt for wickets with 54 runs needed in 11 overs. A defining 5th wicket partnership took Eagles to 117 in the 26th over that tilted the match in the opposition’s favor as Cosmos bowlers struggled to exploit the conditions of this pitch by bowling too many wides. However, Cosmos kept pegging away, and the introduction of Cosmos strongman, Baveshwar Utam, who looked the part in his role as the second spinner, struck a mighty blow when he got a crucial breakthrough that shifted the balance of this match once again. He got one to rip and found its way through the gates of M. Kallicharran (17), and in his next over removed J. Ramkaran (1) with a similar delivery, as another one bites the dust.

The tension was quite evident on both sides, however, Cosmos made too many opportunities slipped away at crucial stages of the match and again in the end when they missed a stumping opportunity to remove R. Doordarshan in the 27th over. Chatram then made a meal of a badly misjudged catch on the mid-on boundary that went over his head in the last ball of the 28th over offered by D. Hibbert on nought. Missed opportunities can be costly, and the chances to seal this match came and went with ten runs needed off two overs with the opposition having two men out on injuries. Cosmos had already conceded 33 extras and added two more to that in the penultimate over. In the first ball of the 29th over Doordarshan charged Ganesh and missed and so did the wicket-keeper, wow, this is not happening, and another missed opportunity in the last ball of the same over, Thakoordeen grassed Hibbert on the mid-wicket boundary that went for four, and so did Cosmos hopes of pulling off a thriller as Eagles sealed this thriller with a hard fought 4-wicket victory. Bavesh Utam took 2 for 23, and Chatram Nauth got 2 for 38.

Upcoming Games:
Sun. 7/12 - 8:30am - Cosmos Youths will play SMS at Roy Wilkins Park 
Sun. 7/12 - 1:30pm - Cosmos v Fire Blazers at Ferry Point Park #2.