By Avenash Ramzan
The guile of Sohan Ragnandan and the vast experience of Azeemul Haniff combined to give Ogle a seven-wicket win over Enmore in the Neville Ramotar T20 final on Sunday.
Played in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Enmore Community Centre ground, Enmore posted what turned out to an inadequate 115 before Ogle got home at 117-3 in 18 overs.
The run-chase started in overcast condition and Enmore made an immediate strike in the first over, leaving Ogle 1-1.
Any other attempt by Enmore to make further inroads into Ogle’s batting was thwarted by Haniff and Andrew Samaroo, who added 69 for the second wicket.
The left-handed Haniff, who played 51 First-Class matches for Guyana between 1996 and 2007, rolled back the years, picking the gaps with expert precision and effortlessly rotating the strike.
At 42, Haniff looked fit as a fiddle, challenging his younger partner Samaroo to take the quick singles and converting the ones to twos.
It turned to be an effective ploy, as it drained the enthusiasm out of Enmore. Haniff batted almost to the end, being dismissed for 64 (4x4s, 2x6s), while Samaroo made 23 (1×6).
Earlier, Enmore squandered a good position of 37-1 to be dismissed in 19.2 overs. Left-arm spinner Ragnandan was outstanding, claiming 5-19 off 3.2 overs, while Anthony Ifill had 2-17 off four overs.
For Enmore, opener Imran Hassan top-scored with 49 (2x4s, 1×6), while Rudolph Singh chipped in with an aggressive 32 (1×4, 2x6s).
Ogle, celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, collected G$75,000 and the championship trophy for the win, while Enmore had to settle for G$50,000 and the runner-up trophy. Lusignan East, who won the third place game, took home G$20,000.
Haniff was named Man-of-the-Match for his match-winning knock.
