Liberty Sports Club enjoyed mixed fortune in the opening round of the Eastern American Cricket Association T20 Blitz competition. The men in blue secured a 6 wicket win over All Stars Cricket Club in their first match of their Sunday doubleheader but fell 27 runs short of East Side Warriors in the second game.
Liberty Sports Club skipper Danesh Deonarine produced a fine knock of 43 in his club win over All-Stars.
Game 1 – Liberty SC vs All Stars CC
Liberty SC got off to a shaky start in their reply when they lost Dilly Khillawan for 4 in the second over. Skipper, Danesh Deonarain, came to the crease and announced his arrival with a lofted boundary over long on. Deonarain would go on to hit 6 fours in his hasty knock of 43 to set up the LSC run chase. Opening batsman Andray Persaud played responsibly early in his innings and then finished off in a flurry to see The Achievers Real Estate Sponsored, Liberty Sports Club home with 2.3 overs to spare. Imtiaz Hassan and Terrence Madramootoo chipped in with 13 each to support Andray.LSC asked All Stars CC to bat first at Flushing Park following some overnight rain leading to damp outfield and pitch. The conditions did not seem to hamper All Stars CC who got off to a flyer in a game which was reduced to 15 overs due to a late start. All Stars took advantage of some chances which Liberty SC floored and rode on their number 3 batsman getting past 50 to post 126 off of their 15 overs.
Liberty SC got off to a shaky start in their reply when they lost Dilly Khillawan for 4 in the second over. Skipper Danesh Deonarain, came to the crease and announced his arrival with a lofted boundary over long on. Deonarain would go on to hit 6 fours in his hasty knock of 43 to set up the LSC run chase. Opening batsman Andray Persaud played responsibly early in his innings and then finished off in a flurry to see The Achievers Real Estate Sponsored, Liberty Sports Club home with 2.3 overs to spare. Imtiaz Hassan and Terrence Madramootoo chipped in with 13 each to support Andray.
Game 2 – Liberty SC vs East Side Warriors
East Side Warriors won the toss and immediately elected to bat first in the second game of the day. Liberty Sports Club’s opening bowlers Imtiaz Hassan and Dharamraj Singh started off with excellent figures in the first 5 overs. The duo restricted ESW 34 the first 36 balls. With their eyes in the batsmen decided to switch gears, however, and from there they never looked back. Saud Rafique blasted 82 which was lit up with six 6’s and four 4’s while S. Alvi knocked in 44 as ESW posted a commanding 188 for 5 off their 20 overs.
Vijendra Singh was the pick of LSC bowlers with 3 wickets for 33 runs off of his 4 overs. Hassan chipped in with a miserly 4 overs for 15 runs and picked up 1 wicket.
Needing 189 for victory LSC started off making favorable progress in the third over when they were 27 without loss and keeping up with the required run rate. The loss of Andray Persaud who fell for 13 and followed shortly after by Dilly Khilawan (20), Danesh Deonarain (6) and Terrence Madramootoo (0) to leave the Liberty line up reeling at 58 for 4 in the 9th over.
Hassan and Andy Harricharan would begin a consolidation process to try and salvage the LSC innings. Hassan added 27 with some well-timed boundaries but would eventually fall looking to clear long on.
Harricharran, with the run rate mounting higher, switched gears and got in some healthy blows as he raced up to an unbeaten 45. Thakur Singh chipped in with 14 while Vickey Khillawan finished with 4 not out.
Liberty SC only managed 161 by the time the 20 overs expired resulting in East Side Warrior winning by 27 runs.
B. Ahmed was the pick of the ESW bowlers with 3 wickets for 26 runs off his 4 overs.
Liberty Sports Club will take on MMZ Cricket Club in a critical encounter this Sunday. The game will essentially decide which team will qualify from Group B for the T20 Blitz semi-final. Heading into the game MMZ will be the favorites having a superior net run. The Liberty team will not only have to win the game against MMZ who ranked 5 positions higher in the EACA Power40 competition but also do so with a sizable margin to overcome their NRR.