By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 46th Anniversary): – Devindra Balgobin put his shoulders to the wheel and led from the front when he pulled a hat-trick out of the bag and ripped through the opposition middle-order to leave them slipping and sliding fast into submission. He was well supported by young Alvin Gobin who delivered an impressive spell of medium pace bowling.
Despite being faced by some of the most unwanted and unwarranted challenges as captain, Balgobin remained focused and showed quite clearly that he is mature enough for the task at hand. Cosmos bowling attack have operated in good combinations as it was Ryan Ganesh and Gohan Gourdeen in the last match, and in this match, it was Balgobin and Gobin.
With ball in hand, and in defense of a competitive total, Balgobin sliced through the opposition middle-order after his new ball partner Alvin Gobin did the early damage. Gobin was handed the new ball and proceeded to dismantle opposition top order when he bagged the first three wickets with an excellent spell of medium pace bowling. He ran in to a bowl as if he was on a mission; full of youth and enthusiasm and with something to prove in support of his captain. He got his first ball to move off the seam to tease the outside edge and then he did the damage when he produced a gem with his second delivery that nipped back through the gates to rearrange the furniture of T. Roopnarine.
Gobin held a steady line and it paid dividends when he netted the ‘big fish,’ of P. Biggs, who drove a stinger down the throat of Ghanam Tariq, perfectly placed deep mid-off. That ignited a charge of adrenaline in this young medium pacer, and he soon after had T. Jaikarran sharply taken by Antanio Rooplall at short mid-wicket to complete an impressive spell.
At 32 for 3 in 8 overs, Balgobin, who had some concerns about his bowling may be his own inspiration of success when pushed in a corner. He started the rain dance under threatening skies in the ninth over and wrecked havoc in the opposition middle-order with his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th deliveries to put his team in a commanding position. He removed S. Kinopaul caught behind, and had A. Babulal caught by Baveshwar Utam at deep mid-on, and then D. Seepersaud taken at mid-off, actually, he had to be reminded that he just bagged a hat-trick. As a young captain, he poured his heart into leading his team with a gallant effort, and it reaped the rewards. That over left Trini Boyz tottering on 37 for 6, and on the brink of defeat. Kyle Kowlessar, a promising young player, who is batting way too low on that line-up, offered some respectability to a dismal looking scorecard as he fought a lone hand with his team headed to a sure defeat.
Earlier, Cosmos produced another good all-round batting performance after Balgobin won the toss and elected to bat under cloudy skies. All of their top order batsmen got off to good starts and in the process stitched together important partnerships to keep the scorecard ticking at a steady six runs per over. A good opening partnership of 37 runs between Yogeshwar Ramgobin and Antanio got Cosmos going before Ramgobin (30) edged behind. An important 2nd wicket partnership of 62 runs between Rooplall and Ghanam Tariq took Cosmos to 97 runs before Rooplall (34) dragged one back onto his stumps.
Cosmos went into the break in a good position but were checked when Tariq (29) miscued a ranked long-hop and Balgobin (10) drove to cover. At 127 for 4 in 22.2 overs, Cosmos recalibrate and sprung into gear for a late inning charge. The reliable Akash Rahim and aggressive Alex Chunilall then featured in a good 5th wicket partnership of 58 runs that propelled their team to a competitive total. Chunilall, despite the initial ploy to soak up the deliveries, played a useful cameo, though charmed, in the late overs to get to a good half-century while Rahim stroked a useful 28 runs to push Cosmos to a competitive 194 for 5 in their allotted 30 overs.
Under threatening skies, Cosmos appeared relentless in the field. Their bowling attack was impressive especially young Alvin Gobin in his opening spell. Apart from a regrettable occurrence for a caught behind and run out, Cosmos bowlers were ably back up by some excellent catches from Utam, Tariq and Rooplall.
Balgobin is grafually making strides as a leader and has featured as a good all-rounder. He appeared to be writing a significant Cosmos story as a calm and level headed leader as he attempted to manage a generation of cricketers who have an answer to every drop of water in ocean. On this day though, the ocean dried up and the opposition very had few answers to the counter the Cosmos bowling attack. They were eventually bundled out for a paltry 67 runs all out in 16.3 overs as Cosmos sealed a convincing 127 runs victory.
A. Gobin took 3 for 11, D. Balgobin 3 for 26, A. Chunilal 2 for 11, and T. Thakoordeen 1 for 11.
