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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, August 4, 2019
Saini stars on debut as India win low-scoring T20 in Florida FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CMC) – World champions West Indies were left to rue another dismal batting effort, as they slipped to a four-wicket defeat to India in the opening Twenty20 International of the three-match series here yesterday. In a scrappy, low-scoring affair on a two-paced pitch at the Central Broward County Stadium, West Indies mustered a paltry 95 for nine off their 20 overs – their fifth lowest total in the shortest format – punctuated with 79 dot balls. Veteran Kieron Pollard topscored with a run-a-ball 49 while Nicholas Pooran sparkled briefly in a 16-ball 20 but no other West Indies batsman reached double figures. Man-of-the-Match Navdeep Saini bowled brilliantly on debut to claim three for 17 while fellow seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar supported with two for 17. In reply, India were forced to labour, losing wickets at regular intervals before reaching their modest target in the 18th over with 16 balls remaining. Rohit Sharma top-scored with 24 at the top of the order while captain Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey both scored 19 but failed to carry on. Off-spinner Sunil Narine, in his first outing for West Indies in nearly two years, was superb in taking two for 14 from his four overs while seamers Sheldon Cottrell (2-20) and Keemo Paul (2-23) finished with two wickets apiece. Not for the first time, West Indies found themselves hampered
straight boundary with Saini two balls earlier when he attempted another big leg-side shot but succeeded only in top-edging a catch to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant in the fifth over. Left-hander Shimron Hetmyer lasted one delivery, chopping on a defensive stroke to Saini and when Rovman Powell (4) edged a drive at a wide one from left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, West Indies were in
Kieron Pollard top-scored for West Indies with a run-a-ball 49.
by a lack of enterprise from their batsmen and eventually needed Pollard’s experience to dig them out of a hole at 33 for five in the sixth over, after Saini helped rip through the top order. Left-hander John Campbell, playing in only his second T20 International, perished without scoring to the second ball of the contest when he picked out Krunal Pandya on the ropes at mid-wicket with off-spinner Washington Sundar. His opening partner Evin Lewis followed in the next over also without scoring, bowled missing a heave at a slower one from seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Tottering on eight for two, Pooran counterattacked with a four and two cleanly-struck sixes, as he looked to transfer pressure back to India. However, he had just cleared the
Man-of-the-Match Navdeep Saini bowled brilliantly on debut to claim three for 17.
strife at 33 for five. Pollard and captain Carlos Brathwaite (9) then came together to add 34 for the sixth wicket – the best stand of the innings – but the partnership was a slow one needing 50 balls and West Indies were labouring on 45 for five at the half-way point. In his first T20 International in nine months, Pollard played sensibly, striking two fours and four sixes. He started slowly, gathering
just four runs from his first 17 balls before getting his first boundary by edging left-arm spinner Pandya to third man. He then hammered sixes off leftarm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal and Saini, as he attempted to raise the run rate. Brathwaite, who faced 24 balls without hitting a single boundary, perished in the 15th over when he slapped a return catch to Pandya and Sunil Narine followed for two in the next over, pulling Jadeja into the deep where Khaleel snared a great running catch. Keemo Paul chanced his hand and fell to the first ball of the penultimate over for three and Pollard, seemingly set for his third T20 International half-century but first in seven years, departed in the final over when he missed an ordinary thighhigh full toss and was adjudged lbw to Saini, courtesy of DRS. India were set back early in their chase when left-armer Cottrell trapped Shikhar Dhawan lbw for one in the second over with the score on four but Rohit and Kohli steadied the innings in a 28-run, second-wicket stand. However, Narine struck twice in the seventh over, having Rohit caught at long on by Pollard then removing Pant first ball, taken at deep square by Cottrell. Kohli and Pandey quelled the Windies’ hopes in a 32-run, fourth-wicket stand which appeared to put the visitors on the path to a comfortable victory. But India stumbled yet again,
SCOREBOARD WEST INDIES innings J. Campbell c Pandya b Sundar 0 E. Lewis b Kumar 0 N. Pooran c wkp. Pant b Saini 20 K. Pollard lbw b Saini 49 S. Hetmyer b Saini 0 R. Powell c wkp.. Pant b Khaleel Ahmed 4 C. Brathwaite c and b Pandya 9 S. Narine c Khaleel Ahmed b Jadeja 2 K. Paul c Kohli b Kumar 3 S. Cottrell not out 0 O. Thomas not out 0 Extras: (w-8) 8 Total: (9 wkts, 20 overs) 95 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-8, 3-28, 4-28, 5-33, 6-67, 7-70, 8-88, 9-95. Bowling: Sundar 2-0-18-1 (w-1), Kumar 4-0-19-2 (w-1), Saini 4-1-17-3 (w-2), Khaleel Ahmed 2-0-8-1, Pandya 4-1-20-1, Jadeja 4-1-13-1. INDIA innings Rohit Sharma c Pollard b Narine 24 S. Dhawan lbw b Cottrell 1 V. Kohli c Pollard b Cottrell 19 R. Pant c Cottrell b Narine 0 M. Pandey b Paul 19 K. Pandya b Paul 12 R. Jadeja not out 10 W. Sundar not out 8 Extras (w5) 5 Total: (6 wkts, 17.2 overs) 98 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-32, 3-32, 4-64, 5-69, 6-88. Bowling:: Thomas 4-0-29-0, Cottrell 4-020-2 (w-4), Narine 4-0-14-2, Paul 3.2-0-232 (w-1), Brathwaite 2-0-12-0.
two wickets falling in the space of 14 balls with just five runs added, to leave them struggling on 69 for five in the 14th over. Pandey missed a heave at Paul and lost his offstump while Kohli topedged a pull at Cottrell and was taken at mid-wicket. Again with hope ren e w e d , We s t I n d i e s pressed for more wickets but got only Pandya’s for 12 as India limped home.
Sandpipers CC to host T10 tapeball tournament TWELVE teams will be in action during the Sandpipers Cricket Club annual Soesdyke Premier League (SPL) T10 tapeball cricket tournament, billed for August 11, 12, 18, 25 and 31. The venues for the five-day tournament are the Soesdyke Community Centre ground and the Airport Cricket Ground. The twelve teams are: Sandpipers ‘A’, Sandpipers ‘B’, Eccles All Stars, Kuru Kururu XI, Sarah Johanna, Redbull X1, Uprisng Crick Club, Laluni Cricket Club, Village Ram, FarmTrack XI, Rising Star Cricket Club and Airport XI. This event will be played on a round-robin basis for the first round. The top eight teams will qualify for the knock-out stage; quarterfinals, semifinals and final. The semifinals and final will be played
under floodlights. All games will begin at 09:30hrs except for semifinals and final. Several prizes are up for grabs with a first prize of $100 000 and trophy. The losing finalists will take home $50 000 and trophy, while the team to finish third will receive $25 000 and trophy. The leading bowler and batsman will each earn $15 000 and trophy, while man-of-the-match in the final will collect $10 000 and a trophy. This event is made possible by: Trophy Stall, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Singh’s Transportation Service and Equipment Rentals, Deokie and Sons General Contracting Services, Camille’s Academy, B&R Investment, RUBiS Gas Station (Soesdyke), Bashier & Sons and Sandpipers Cricket Club.
From left: Vinash Persaud club captain, Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall and Abhilash Deokie, president of Sandpipers Cricket Club.