Imran Khan engineered a spectacular Guyana Jaguars collapse and Jason Mohammed and Darren Bravo followed up with half-centuries as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force finished the round-robin phase of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup top of the table with an unblemished record.
Red Force won all five of their games- the only side to do so- while Jaguars, who came in to Saturday’s contest at the Coolidge Cricket Ground with three wins on the trot, suffered their first defeat of the season.
Scores in the match: Guyana Jaguars 187 all out from 41.5 overs; Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 189-4 from 40.2 overs.
Jaguars, batting first, were given a rousing start of 106 in 20.4 overs by Chandrapaul Hemraj and Tevin Imlach, who replaced Assad Fudadin in the XI.
The duo dominated the Red Force side, led by Bravo in the absence of Kieron Pollard, and it seemed Jaguars were on course for a total in the vicinity of 300.
However, the fall of Imlach for 38 off 57 sparked a monumental collapse, led by leg-spinner Khan, who was only introduced in the 25th over. The veteran spinner picked up career-best figures of 5-32 off 8.4 overs as Jaguars slipped from 128-1 to 187 all out.
Apart from Hemraj with a fine 87 off 84 (5x4s, 6x6s) and Imlach’s contribution, no other batsman got going, with the next best being 12 each from Christopher Barnwell and Romario Shepherd.
Shimron Hetmyer made 10, and skipper Leon Johnson, who made a century in his last game, fell for three. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein picked up 2-25.
Red Force, in reply, were in some early trouble at 15-2 with Evin Lewis and Kjorn Ottley back in the dugout, but Mohammed and Bravo eased the tension with a third wicket stand of 112 to effectively close out the contest.
While Bravo fell for 58 off 77 (6x4s, 1×6), Mohammed batted to the end, finishing on 82 off 115 (8x4s). Nicholas Pooran struck two sixes in 18 off nine and Denesh Ramdin was 17 not out.
Upcoming matches:
Sunday: Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions at Coolidge Cricket Ground. First ball is 13:30h (12:30pm Jamaica Time)
Monday: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Guyana Jaguars at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. First ball is 09:00h (08:00h Jamaica Time)
