By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 45th Anniversary – Match #1254 / 20240526):- A good all-round performance for Cosmos last Sunday at Cunningham Park against Amazon Jaguars bodes well for the team in these early stages of the competition. Devindra Balgobin, deputized for the absent Ryan Ganesh, won the toss and elected to bat on a hot day.
Opening batsmen Shane Singh and Yogeshwar Ramgobin got off to a good start with Singh (27) took the attack to the opposition very early in his inning with four fours and a dismissive maximum over the point before he found the man on the deep extra-cover boundary with the score on 41 in the 5th over.
Ramgobin never seemed to too comfortable as he battled the heat and a pitch that was unpredictable where the ball took off from a good length. He was next to go for a hard fought 23 runs when a length ball popped and offered the man at the slip region a simple catch. Antanio Rooplall looked comfortable before he got one that popped and offered a leading edge back to the bowler, 89 for 3.
Akash Rahim showed signs of his ‘old self‘ with a patient inning on a heavy outfield as he and Daniel Chunilall batted with good resolve as they posted a solid 4th wicket partnership of 42 runs in just five overs. Chunilall played the lead role as he punished anything that was in his range with a breezy 29 runs off just 17 ball before he got one that popped off a good length and took his glove for another simple to the wicketkeeper.
Sohan Dass, the former Guyana National player, didn’t last too long when he was adjudged lbw. Devindra Balgobin got into his strides as he and Rahim posted a crucial 7th wicket partnership of 43 runs in just 4 overs taking the score to 187 runs before Rahim went in the 29th over for a patient 36 runs that included just a solitary boundary.
Balgobin (20) then holed out on the mid-off boundary before the Cosmos inning closed on 197 for 7 in their allotted 30 overs.
In their reply, Jaguars scratched briefly, but never looked threatening against a penetrating Cosmos attack that eventually backed this opposition into a corner. Sham Ali and Balgobin shared the new ball on this occasion.
Ali got the early breakthrough while Balgobin held a steady line and in the process scalped 2 for 29 in a tidy spell. Dass (2 for 29) and Towgeshwar Thakoordeen (2 for 19) packed a heavy blow on the opposition’s middle-order. Thakoordeen in particular delivered a parsimonious spell as he got the ball to bounce and turn.
That combined spell between Dass and Thakoordeen virtually left the cage only slightly ajar on a bruised Jaguars line-up. Cosmos went into the break with the opposition limping on 69 for 5 in the 15th over. With not much of the Amazon left to be explored, Shane Singh (2 for 6) and Harry Carrington (1 for 8) severed the tail leaving Amazon Jaguars panting for breath when their inning closed on 118 all out as Cosmos sealed a convincing 80 run victory.
Cosmos ‘A’ will play South Hudson on Sunday.
Cosmos Masters will play All Nations Masters at Beach-32 on Saturday.