Trinidad and Tobago continued their dominance over Jamaica in Twenty20 cricket, defeating the visitors by six wickets in front of thousands of fans to win the T20 for 50 Cricket Festival at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain on Sunday night.
It was the third time this year that T&T have defeated Jamaica in the shortest format of the game--at the Caribbean T20 final in January, then in Florida, USA earlier this month, and now at the Oval, where Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was on hand to meet the players ahead of the final.
Jamaica's batting failed them again as they were restricted to 114 for seven off their 20 overs, a total their skipper Tamar Lambert probably thought was well below par when he won the toss and elected to bat first.
But it proved more challenging than many at the Oval would have thought.
The Trinidad and Tobago batting wobbled at times but, in the end, the cool heads of Darren Bravo (33 off 32 balls) and captain Denesh Ramdin (33 not out off 46 balls) paved the way for the victory, with Jason Mohammed sending the near-capacity crowd into orbit with a six off Nikita Miller over mid-wicket to lead the hosts to 115 for four in 18.5 overs.
It was a game of patience for both the fans and players.
Jamaica had slipped to 68 for seven in the 15th over of their innings and were in danger of being dismissed for less than 100, but former West Indies Under-19 batsman Andre McCarthy kept them in the game with an unbeaten 39-ball 54.
Samuel Badree started the procession of Jamaican wickets with the fourth ball of the match, Nkrumah Bonner playing off the back foot and getting an edge to wicket-keeper Ramdin.
Navin Stewart bowled Damion Jacobs shortly after as the fans found their voice.
The momentum stayed with T&T even after Lambert's 32-ball 24. He hit three fours before he was stumped by Ramdin off Dave Mohammed.
But McCarthy soldiered on for the Jamaicans as the spectators sang along when the DJ played Bob Marley's classic song "Three Little Birds".
The message was for the Jamaican batsmen—"Don't worry...about a thing, 'cause every little thing, gonna be all right"— and it proved to motivate McCarthy as he took the fight to the Trinidad and Tobago bowlers, sending a Dave Mohammed delivery flying over the long on boundary for the first of his two sixes.
He also struck three fours and his knock gave Jamaica a fighting chance.
When the home team went to bat, the fans were expecting a big win for T&T but were stunned into silence when pacer Dave Bernard Jr. had them struggling at 22 for two after dismissing Lendl Simmons (14) and Evin Lewis (zero) in the fourth over of the chase.
Bernard's in-swingers proved dangerous as he then trapped William Perkins lbw for ten (25/3), forcing T&T to change their game plan.
The Caribbean champions had to regroup and Ramdin and Bravo led the charge, batting patiently in their 70-run partnership to bring the hosts back into the match.
Bravo and Ramdin made sure they were set before playing any big shots, but by the time they were ready to go after the bowling, they were forced back into the pavilion due to a problem with the floodlights.
After a 21-minute delay, they returned, with Bravo striking Nikita Miller for six over long on to take the score 76 for three, with five overs left to get 38 more runs.
Another six by Bravo off Miller in the 17th over and the fans were back on their feet, only to see the West Indies batsman out off the next ball thanks to a brilliant catch by Andrew Richardson.
It was left to Jason Mohammed to bring home the victory and he did it in style.
A leg-glance for four off the first ball he faced from Krishmar Santokie and a six off Miller in the next over and T&T could breathe a sigh of relief.
They pocketed US$20,000 for winning the tournament, which was held as part of T&T's 50th anniversary of Independence.
The celebrations continued into the night with performances by Kees Diffenthaller and other Soca artistes, as well as a fireworks display.
T20 for 50 Final SCOREBOARD T&T vs JAMAICA Jamaica Inns N Bonner c wkp Ramdin b Badree 1 D Jacobs b Stewart 2 T Lambert stp wkp Ramdin b Mohammed 24 X Marshall b Badree 2 A McCarthy not out 54 D Bernard Jr c wkp Ramdin b D Mohammed 2 J Merchant b Cooper 9 H Miller b Simmons 2 N Miller not out 12 Extras (1lb, 5w) 6 TOTAL (for 7 wkts; 20 overs) 114 Did not bat: Santokie, Richardson Fall of wickets: Badree 4-0-9-2 (2w); Stewart 3-0-20-1 (2w); Cooper 4-0-23-1 (1w); D Mohammed 3-0-14-2; S Ganga 4-0- 22-0; Simmons 2-0-25-1 T&T Inns L Simmons b Bernard 14 W Perkins lbw Bernard 10 E Lewis c Lambert b Bernard 0 D Bravo c Richardson b Miller 33 D Ramdin not out 33 J Mohammed not out 14 Extras (4lb, 5w, 2nb) 11 TOTAL (for 4 wkts; 18.5 overs) 115 Did not bat: Stewart, Badree, Cooper, D Mohammed, S Ganga Toss: won by Jamaica who elected to bat first Result: T&T won by 6 wkts Man of the Match: Denesh Ramdin (T&T) Umpires: J Wilson and A Sanowar
By Roger Seepersad
Source: www.trinidadexpress.com