Alex Rodrigues came up trumps in both the semi-final and final and was the huge difference in Team Corruption toppling Village Rams in the final of the ‘Stars on Show’ tapeball tournament at Durban Park on Sunday.
The opener smashed 41 (4x6s; 3x4s) off 17 balls, which led Team Corruption to 117-3 in the six-over slog-fest.
Captain Beepal Bandoo, who seems a gifted talent in this version of the sport, backed up his semi-final bashing with a quick 18 from seven balls, adding 47 for the first wicket with Rodrigues.
Kevin Sinclair added the final touches when he struck three sixes and one four in his eight-ball 25.
Rams, who were the inaugural champions, reached their third final in the three-year history of the tournament, but were up against it in the run-chase.
To win they had to register the tournament’s highest chase this year, and they got a good start when Omesh Danram hammered the first ball for four, but perished on the boundary next delivery.
The danger with the bat in hand, Ershad Ali, threatened to overhaul the massive target with a top score of 32 (4x6s; 1×4) before he was run out, and so did the hopes of the Rams, who reached 91-4 when overs expired.
Bandoo related his team knew beforehand, they were going to come up against some quality opposition and they had to be up for the daunting challenges.
Organiser Dexter George said he was pleased with the success of the tournament and more so the quality of play and the significant high scores.
The championship side pocketed G$120,000, while the runners-up collected half that sum.
Earlier, the first semi-final was a repeat of the last final, with this time, Rams topping V-Net Vipers.
Vipers posted 96-4, led by Kemol Savory, who struck six maximums in his 16-ball 49, and had support from Richie Looknauth (15) and Raymond Perez (14).
In defense, Looknauth’s early drop of Ali proved to be costly as he went on to make them pay with a blazing 60 of 17 balls.
He struck six maximums and three fours and won the match with two balls to spare when 22 was needed off the final over.
The second semi-final between Tarmac and Corruption proved to be another thrilling run chase.
Corruption needed 104 and got there with three balls remaining, after Bandoo blazed to 37 (3x6s; 4x4s) and was the principal in taking Christopher Barnwell for 28 runs in the opening over.
Rodrigues picked up when Bandoo was dismissed to finish unbeaten on 55 (6x6s; 2x4s) and the score 109-1.
Tarmac’s total of 103-3 was built on Barnwell’s 44 and Earl Gilkes’ 17.
