Sri Lanka defeated Trinidad & Tobago by 3 wickets
Hundred of cricket fans turned out on a breezy South Florida night to watch Sri Lanka and Jamaica post victories in the semi-finals of the Lauderhill Maq T20 International Night Cricket Tournament.
Steven Taylor slammed 62 from 45 balls. Photo by Shiek Mohamed
In the first match at the Lauderhill Sports Park, Sri Lanka registered their first ever semi-finals victory by defeating defending champions Trinidad & Tobago by 3 wickets. Winning the toss and electing to bat, Trinidad & Tobago rallied to 160 for 4 in the allotted 20 overs. Batting for Trinidad & Tobago, Baliram Nayaik and Ken Singh shared a 3rd wicket partnership of 84 runs. Nayaik ended on 51 not out from 40 balls including 2 fours and 3 sixes, whilst Singh slammed 50 from 27 balls including 3 fours and 4 sixes.
Other useful contributions came from Stefan Babula 28 and Timothy Surujbally 23. Bowling for Sri Lanka, Srinivas Nandina grabbed 2 for 34, whist Naveed Ahamed claimed 1 for 25 and Priyantha Liyanage took 1 for 28.
In reply, Sri Lanka scored 170 for 7 from 18 overs to advance to the finals of the 11th Annual Lauderhill Maq T20 International Night Cricket Tournament. Batting for Sri Lanka, Sachith Kongahakotuwage blasted 47 including 6 fours and 2 sixes, whilst Hiren Patel slammed 37 not out including 3 fours and 2 sixes. Srinivas Nandina scored 26, whist Naveed Ahamed and Ajay Patel scored 16 and 12. Bowling for Trinidad & Tobago, Stefan Babula claimed 3 for 17, whilst Gaston Walker grabbed 1 for 25, Ken Singh 1 for 33, and Shaquille Forbes 1 for 33.
Jamaica whipped World XI by 9 wickets
Jamaica whipped World XI by 9 wickets in a one sided affair to advance to the Finals of the 11th Annual Lauderhill Maq T20 International Night Cricket Tournament. After winning the toss and electing to field, the Jamaican restricted the World XI to 130 in the allotted 20 overs. Batting for World XI, Usman Malik smashed 42 from 27 balls including 2 fours and 3 sixes, whilst Awais Bajwa scored 23 including 2 sixes and 2 fours, Farhan Sanawa 20 and Moazam Intiaz chipped in 15.
Bowling for Jamaica, veteran pacer Glenroy Anglin grabbed 3 for 17 and Garnell Campbell 3 for 13. Keyonie Gayle took 2 for 34 and Herlando Johnson 1 for 34.
In reply, Jamaica strolled to an easy victory within 14.1 overs behind an unbeaten second wicket partnership between USA national player Steven Taylor and Kenroy Wright. Batting in front of a large and boisterous crowd, Taylor and Wright dominated the World XI bowling attacked to the joyous cheers of the Jamaican supporters. Taylor slammed 8 fours and 3 sixes in his 62 not out from 45 balls, whilst Wright blasted 3 fours and 3 sixes from 37 balls and ended on 50 not out.
Jamaica will do battle with Sri Lanka on Saturday, April 21, 2012 in the finals of the 11th Annual Lauderhill Maq T20 International Night Cricket Tournament. The game will start at 6:00pm at the Lauderhill Sports Park-7500 W. Oakland Park Blvd, Lauderhill, Fl and admission is free.
