PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Favourites Trinidad and Tobago Red Force suffered a scare but held their nerve to beat minnows Canada by two wickets, and post their third straight victory in Group A of the Regional Super50 here Sunday night.
In pursuit of a seemingly uncomplicated 208 at Queen’s Park Oval, Red Force appeared en route to a comfortable win at 161 for three in the 33rd over with red-hot left-hander Nicholas Pooran carving out his third straight half-century with 66 and Kyle Hope getting 50.
However, seamer Sukhdeep Brar (3-39) and left-arm spinner Salman Nazar (2-47) combined to wreck Red Force’s middle order as the hosts lost five wickets for 31 runs in the space of 34 deliveries.
Tottering on 192 for eight in the 39th over and in danger of a stunning upset, Red Force’s fears were allayed by the steady Rayad Emrit who smacked a four and a six in an unbeaten 18 from 21 balls, to see his side over the line.
Opting to bat earlier, Canada looked in good shape at 94 for two in the 20th over before declining to end on 207 for seven off their 50 overs.
Captain Davy Jacobs top-scored with 37 while 18-year-old Bhavindu Adhihetty and Nanveet Dhaliwal chipped in with 32 apiece.
Emrit led the attack, taking three for 58 while fellow seamer Ravi Rampaul (2-41) and 
left-arm spinner Khary Pierre (2-30) supported with two wickets apiece. In-form opener Rodrigo Thomas fell cheaply for one in the second over with the score on 11 but Adhihetty added 33 for the second wicket with Dhaliwal and a further 50 for the third with 20-year-old Harsh Thaker who made 25.
When three wickets tumbled for 27 runs to leave Canada on 121 for five in the 30th over, Jacobs propped up the innings by adding 45 for the sixth wicket with Nikhil Dutta (23) and 37 for the seventh with Brar (21).
Red Force, in reply, lost Lendl Simmons for one in the fourth over when he was lbw to left-arm seamer Romesh Eranga with seven on the board and then slipped further to 57 for three in the 19th over when Evin Lewis (25) and captain Denesh Ramdin (13) both departed.
However, Pooran and Hope came together in a 104-run fourth wicket stand to halt the slide and put Red Force in command of the game.
Pooran, with previous scores of 89 and 75, counted seven fours and two sixes in a typically cavalier 45-ball innings while Hope proved the anchor, facing 84 balls and striking just three fours. The match turned in the 33rd over when Pooran played across a fullish length delivery from Brar and had his stumps shattered.
Kieron Pollard, without a score of significance in the tournament, followed in the next over when he tapped a simple catch back to medium pacer Dhaliwal for three and when Hope missed an injudicious heave at Brar and was comprehensively bowled, Red Force were tottering on 170 for six in the 35th over.
Sunil Narine (13) and Imran Khan (0) were prised out cheaply and it was left to Emrit to salvage the game and avoid embarrassment for Red Force.
