Yugesh Shivpersaud Held The Reins For Cosmos
By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 42nd Anniversary – Match #1176):- Well, it has been another one of those unceremonious encounters where a youthful local bread, Cosmos, took on a top heavy franchise outfit, Galaxy, at Bayswater Park last Sunday.
After all the shenanigans before the toss and the decision to bowl from one end of the wicket (the new norm) to facilitate pure laziness is nothing more than utter mediocrity or what can be construed as an absolute mockery of rules and all of the finer points of the game, the game go underway with Galaxy claiming the toss due to late start.
But Cosmos remained oblivious of the ‘noise’ and pegged away at the opposition. However, the opening pair of Yougesh Bissnauth and M. Perkhan was in no mood for the prelude as they got off to a breezy start in the powerplay overs which yielded 87 runs in 7 overs, and the Cosmos attack appeared clueless in their effort to penetrate the opening pair. The ineffectiveness of Cosmos opening attack on this track proved costly as Cosmos bowlers tried gamely in unhelpful conditions while the partnership flourished. It was not until the 13th over that the opportunity finally came when D. Chunilall had Bissnauth, who had earlier played the shot of the day off N. Persaud – a dismissive pull over the mid-wicket boundary – was caught for a solid 33-ball 59 runs with 5-6’s and 4-4’s, by which time the partnership had yielded a solid 143 runs.
Cosmos fought themselves back into the match by picking up another six wickets for sixty runs, but the Galaxy franchise ran deep and the lower-order batsmen kept the momentum on the backs of an explosive the opening partnership that laid a solid foundation. M. Perkhan was the pick of the batsmen as he stroked his way to a brilliant 62-ball century with 8-6’s and 8-4’s. The Cosmos attack in this match has been below their best as it turned a full 180 degrees from their last match. The attack rained boundaries as they served of an entire menu filled with ‘rank long-hops’ and a desert of full-tosses for the batsmen to feast delightfully to their hearts content while putting the spectators in danger zone as Galaxy posted a massive 342 for 8 off their allotted 35 overs. D. Chunilall took 2 for 42, and K. Conyers 4 for 82.
Cosmos batsmen in their reply had other things on their minds instead of applying themselves at the wicket. Only Yudesh Shivpersaud showed some restraint and determination while wickets tumbled around him. He began to stroke the ball cleanly picking up the occasional boundary and then chipped down the wicket taking G. Moti for a maximum over mid-off. He kept his concentration, but could not find someone to partner with him as he stroked his way to a commanding half century, 52 with 5-4’s and 2-6’s. He was unlucky when he defended at a ball which ricochet off his boot and trickled onto his stumps.
Conversely, Cosmos middle-order had a miserable day with the bat. Daniel Chunilall was bowled when he attempted an ambitious heave to mid-wicket in the second over. Alex Chunilall was next to go, bowled, when he tried another heave. N. Persaud drove upishly to cover. A. Rahim pushed to point and took for a suicide run, and that practically summed up a witless batting display in the Cosmos inning since the tail had no dressing to stop the bleeding from the earlier incision as they were bundled out for 88 in 24 overs with H. Ramdihal 2 for 21, K. Ganesh 3 for 13.
