By Sam Sooppersaud
The Galaxy Sports Franchise defeat the Punjab Franchise in the Semi-Final of the New York Melbourne West Indies Alliance T20 tournament on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, at the Baisley Pond Park Cricket Field, Queens, New York. It was a relatively low scoring game considering the high scores (in the 180’s to 200’s) that were amassed in the preliminary rounds of the tournament.
Dereck Narine hit a composed 61 Galaxy beat Punjab in the semi-final. Photo by Shem Rodney
Punjab batted first and showed signs of going on to a large total. By the end of the 5th over they were 53 for 3. Then 85 for 4 in the 7th. With 7 overs to go they were coasting at 124 for 5. Then the bottom fell off of their batting. The last 5 wickets fell for 36 runs; the inning closed at 160 for 10 in 19 overs. Vijay Seonarine 2 for 36; Chris Patadin 2 for 41 and T. Singh 2 for 31.
Galaxy sent in Mushin Khan and Derek Narine to commence the run chase. Both started off slowly; very slowly, scoring 30 runs in the first 5 overs. Then the Punjab bowling was torn to pieces. Both batsmen, once settled in and “turned it on”. Ninety-two (92) runs came from their bats between overs number 6 and 9. In fact, in the 8th over, Narine blasted the bowler for 27 runs: 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 1. Narine fell with the score on 94. Two quick wickets fell for an addition of only 11 runs. But the 4th wicket partnership brought the game home for their team in the 18th over. Usman Ashraf 2 for 55.
On Sunday, Oct. 22nd, Galaxy with meet NY Melbourne Alliance (#1 seed) in the finals to determine the winner of the NYMWIA T20 Tournament. The game will be played at the Baisley Pond Park Cricket Field, Queens, starting at 12:00 Noon. A keen and exciting game is expected as both squads are evenly balanced, position for position.