Dhanai leads Long Island Raptors to historic title success in Guyana Cup

Led by an impactful performance from their captain Suresh Dhanai, Long Island Raptors created history by winning the New York National Cricket League’s Guyana Cup T20 championship for the first time.

Dhanai was impressive with the ball, picking up a total of eight wickets in the three matches to guide his side to the championship.

Raptors defeated Queens Sharks by six wickets in the final, chasing down a target of 132 in 15.5 overs with Dhanai taking 3-18 off his four overs and all-rounder Kevin Sinclair impressing with 3-9 off four, including a maiden.

Sinclair also led the victory charge with a blistering 35 off 12 (4x4s, 3x6s), opening the batting.

Earlier in the tournament Dhanai had 2-16 against Essequibo Jaguars and 3-11 against Demerara Eagles as Raptors played unbeaten throughout the tournament, which featured several Guyanese players.

Raptors also thumped GT Bulls in a rain-shortened contest.

Below is a summary of the matches played by Long Island Raptors

SUMMARY (Final): Queens Sharks 131-9 from 20 overs (Keron Sewnarine 32, Dino Chooweenam 23, Latchman Bissoon 21, Dominique Rikhi 20; Kevin Sinclair 3-9, Suresh Dhanai 3-18) lost to Long Island Raptors 132-6 from 15.5 overs (Kevin Sinclair 35, Akshay Homraj 32, Rohit Dutchin 24, Randall Wilson 24; Michael Sultan 4-13) by four wickets

SUMMARY: GT Bulls 76-4 from 10 overs (Dave Duncan 27, Jayden Higgins 20; Mario Lobban 3-9) lost to Long Island Raptors 78-2 from 4.1 overs (Rohit Dutchin 47*, Kevin Sinclair 17; Ansaar Yasim 2-23) by eight wickets

SUMMARY: Essequibo Jaguars 106-9 from 20 overs (David Latchaya 28, Looknauth Chinkoo 22; Kevin Sinclair 2-12, Suresh Dhanai 2-16, Mario Lobban 2-16) lost to Long Island Raptors 108-3 from 12.2 overs (Rohit Dutchin 44, Akshay Homraj 25; Deveshwari Prashad 2-23) by seven wickets

SUMMARY: Demerara Eagles 67-8 from 10 overs (Waqas Ali 32; Suresh Dhanai 3-6, Kevin Sinclair 3-11) lost to Long Islands Raptors 68-1 from 5.3 overs (Rohit Dutchin 53*) by nine wickets