Everest Cricket Club coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Gandhi Youth Organization (GYO) in the inaugural De Sinco Group of Companies-sponsored Lipton Tea Cup at Everest Cricket Club on Sunday.
In a game that was reduced to a 20-over contest from the initially scheduled 50-over-a-side duel, due to early morning showers on Sunday, GYO were sent in to bat after the hosts took first strike.
GYO’s innings was a procession from start to finish, with the loss of wickets at regular intervals, as they collapsed for a miserable 68 all out in 17 overs. Middle order batsmen Anthony Infill 28 (1×4) and captain Surendra Hiralall 16 (2×6) were the only players to register double figures. Everest skipper and eventually Player-of-the-Match Troy Gonsalves, led the bowling rout with impressive figures of 3-1-2-4. Guyana and West Indies Under-19 players Amir Khan and Chanderpaul Hemraj, along with Javed Rasheed and Chris Surat, all supported Gonsalves claiming one wicket apiece.
Chasing down this meagre target, Everest suffered an early minor hiccup when in the first over, opener Adrian Singh was caught at the wicket for duck, off new-ball bowler Abhilash Dookie.
However, a composed 52-run, second wicket partnership between Saheed Mohammed, 32 not out (1×4, 2×6) and Hemraj, 33, (4×6, 1×4) steadied the ship and put Everest on course for victory.
Hemraj and wicket-keeper batsman Joseph Perry (1) fell soon after that partnership with the scores on 53 and 57 respectively, but Rishi Hiralall (2) and Mohammed saw the home side across the line without further trouble, ending up on 74-3 in 9.3 overs. Dookie, Abdool Raha and Richard Hoyte took one wicket each for GYO.
This exhibition match was organized as part of the Indian Arrival Day commemoration. De Sinco Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer, Frank De Abreu noted that in August, GYO will face Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) in another exhibition fixture called the “Emancipation Challenge”, which will be played to celebrate Emancipation Month.
