The President’s XI, led by Azeemul Haniff’s 39 and Amir Khan’s 4-6 handed the veteran Master’s XI a 37-run defeat last evening in their 20/20 match in the 2014 Guyana Festival, held at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
The opener struck fours classical fours and one six in his innings which left the masses in awe as he rolled back the years. Support came from skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan who hit one four in his knock of 24.
West Indies test player Assad Fudadin crunched two fours in his 22 and veteran Guyana and West Indies batsman scored Shivanarine Chanderpaul, a boundary-less workman-like 15.
Khan bamboozled the legends with his leg-spin and his four wickets came from just two overs. Chasing a decent target on a gripping Providence surface proved difficult for the Clayton Lambert Master’s XI who were restricted to 95-6 at the end of their 20 overs.
Former Test batsman Faoud Bacchus stroked an elegant 22 with one four before retiring hurt. Support came from Alvin Kalllicharan who crunched two boundaries in his 15, while former national wicket-keeper sheik Momamed and Sudesh Dhaniram scored quickly at the back end of the innings but were unable to take their side over the line.
Sarwan’s leg-spin and Fudadin’s medium pace proved effective as both players ended with two wickets each for the President’s XI.
At the post match presentation, Minister of Tourism Irfan Ally expressed his gratitude towards both teams and lauded the camaraderie shown during match.
Ally also hinted that a Master’s team was in the making and works are in progress to bring onboard players and clubs from across the world to be a part of the activity in the future.
Meanwhile, Lambert, the former Test and ODI batsman during an invited comment said that he was happy to be home. “it’s always a joy to come home and play,” he said adding that it was good to share the moment with the younger players while reviving the locker room relationship with his old mates.
