By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 45th Anniversary – Match #1266 / 20240707):- Marine park was burnt and bone dry as the heat wave continues with temperature and humidity hovering in the upper nineties. It was good day to detour to the beach, but Cosmos boys had a match to play and they went blazing as they returned to an old hunting ground to battle Eagles.
Eagles won the toss and elected to bat. The cricket match will be played baseball style since the ‘qualified’ umpires instructed the teams that they will bowl from one end. Utter foolishness, and for sure, that ‘clown show’ will continue!!! Cosmos made early inroads into the opposition top order when Daniel Chunilall affected a spectacular run out when he darted in from extra-cover, picked up and shy down the stumps at the non-striker’s end that left S. Ali well short. Ryan Ganesh then scalped another two wickets when Akash Rahim held on at point and Towgeshwar Thakoordeen at short third-man to remove S. St.Clair (9) and G. Munialall (0), to leave Eagles fluttering on 19 for 3 off 5 overs.
A good 4th wicket partnership of 75 runs between D. Khilawan and K. Shamsundar added some stability to the inning. Shamsundar was fortunate early in his inning when A. Rooplall was found lost somewhere in the Cosmos on the mid-off boundary. However, a good combination of spin bowling between Thakoordeen and Alex Chunilall gave Cosmos a grip on the match with Thakoordeen conceding just fourteen runs a miserly spell. Chunilall had Khilawan (23) edged behind to affect the breakthrough with the score on 95 in 20 overs. He then picked up the key wicket of Shamsundar (63) at mid off and Cosmos ceased the opportunity to clip Eagles wings. Jieunit Mingo had a good opening burst and returned for his second spell. He kept things tight in the closing overs as Cosmos restricted Eagles to 149 for 8 in the allotted 30 overs. A. Chunilall took 3 for 34. R. Ganesh 2 for 26, and J. Mingo 1 for 21.
Cosmos went into the inning break quite satisfied after a good performance with the ball to restrict Eagles to a below par total on this outfield. An aggressive half-century opening partnership between Yogeshwar Ramgobin and Shane Singh, in just seven overs, gave Cosmos a good platform, before both batsman succumbed to the heat and humidity and ultimately found ways of giving away their wickets too easily. Singh (20) slashed and top-edged to cover point. Another three wickets fell when Rooplall (2) hang his bat out to dry and Akash Rahim (5) poked at a wide to give the wicketkeeper catching practice. Ramgobin (30) then holed out at mid-off. Alex Chunilall appeared technically tangled and low on confidence when he top-edged a full-toss to mid-off. Cosmos went into the 15th over break on 90 for 5, and in a spot of bother.
Daniel Chunilall and Devindra Balgobin brought a sense of calmness to the inning when it was needed with a solid an unbroken sixth wicket partnership despite the extreme weather conditions. That partnership was reminiscent of a Cosmos 1985 battle, albeit in two very different eras and cricketers of a very very different mold against a Gus Logie led Excelsior team at the adjacent pitch. In that match, Cosmos had bowled out Excelsior for a paltry 125 runs. Raj Sunday took a spectacular diving catch inches off the ground on the deep square-leg boundary. That piece of fielding was enough to inspire his team, and Kawal Persaud followed up when he plucked out a brilliant catch at square-leg again off paceman Authur ‘Nick’ Clemetson to remove danger-man, the West Indies national player, Gus Logie. Clemetson in a fiery spell bagged 3 for 32 off 8 overs while spinner M. Kissoon sent down a parsimonious spell with 3 for 20 off 9 overs and the reliable R. Goolsarran took 2 for 29 off his 8 overs. Cosmos has had a few tricky chases on this ground, but not so on this day. Yours truly, S. Ali (51) buckled down as he and brother. Ashmul Ali (26) put on a 40-runs partnership for the 2nd wicket before A. Ali went via lbw, and then a match winning 66-runs 3rd wicket partnership with M. Kissoon to tame a powerful Excelsior bowling attack as Cosmos sealed a convincing 7-wicket victory.
On this day, four decades later, a colorful youthful looking Cosmos outfit is keeping the tradition alive. Chunilall, after his disastrous last two outings at the wicket, appeared to have reprogrammed his brain as he and Balgobin; who added some much needed fire power to the middle-order, battled the opposition’s attack. This pair looked very much like the batsmen who would carry the weight of the Cosmos middle-order in seasons to come as they ceased the initiative and stitched together a solid 60-runs partnership. Balgobin pierced the extra-cover boundary with a powerful punch off the backfoot while Chunilall stamp his authority when he cleared the mid-wicket boundary. Balgobin then cleared the mid-on boundary to seal the match with a convincing 6-wicket victory in the 23rd over.
Cosmos will play Whim Boys next Sunday at Whitestone 2.
