BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Rovman Powell struck an exhilarating hundred to help Jamaica Scorpions overcome a stiff challenge from minnows Canada and register their second win of the Super50 Cup here Saturday night.
Chasing a very competitive 244 at Warner Park, Scorpions rebounded from a nightmare start when the innings lay in strife at one run for two wickets in the second over, to overhaul their target in the 44th over and complete a four-wicket victory.
Powell was at the forefront of the effort, finishing unbeaten on exactly 100 off 67 balls, an innings that transformed the complexion of the game.
The West Indies right-hander belted four fours and eight sixes after arriving at the crease in the 25th over with Scorpions still up against it at 96 for four. He received valuable support from Nkrumah Bonner who made 49 from 62 balls and in-form opener Assad Fudadin who made 37.
Nitish Kumar had earlier continued his excellent form with a top score of 65 from 62 balls, a knock that laid the foundation for Canada’s 243 for six off their 50 overs, after the North Americans opted to bat first.
Kanwarpal Tathgur chipped in with 39 while opener Jeet Metha got 33 and Shreyas Movva, a breezy 26 down the order.
Hoping to kickstart their Group A campaign, Scorpions were put under pressure by Kumar who entered at the fall of the first wicket to inspire three key stands to put the Canada innings in good stead.
First, he put on 60 for the second wicket with Metha before adding a further 42 for the third wicket with Harsh Thaker (18) and 34 for the fourth wicket with Tathgur.
All told, Kumar struck four fours and one six before falling in the 34th over, fending off a short ball from Oshane Thomas (2-61) and giving the West Indies fast bowler a simple return catch.
Jamaica then had the worst possible start to their run chase when Aldaine Thomas missed a swipe at left-arm spinner Mann in the second over and was bowled without scoring, and Jermaine Blackwood (0) drove to cover point two balls later and was taken low down by substitute Harmandeep Singh.
Fudadin started the rebuild in a 52-run third wicket stand with Andre McCarthy (23) before continuing it in a 43-run fourth wicket partnership with Bonner.
Left-hander Fudadin’s dismissal in the 25th over, caught at the wicket cutting at off-spinner Thaker, left Scorpions somewhat shaken but Powell asserted himself on the innings with a dominant knock.
The right-hander inspired a 92-run, fifth wicket stand with Bonner before putting on a further 38 with Grenadian Denis Smith (16) for the sixth wicket, to turn the tide for Scorpions.
Powell’s first fifty required 27 balls and included half-dozen sixes and he needed only another 41 balls to reach triple figures.
