East Bank bounced back in the Demerara Inter-Association Under-17 second round with a nine-wicket win over West Demerara yesterday at Everest.
Led by four-wicket hauls from Thaddeus Lovell and Krsna Singh, West Demerara were routed for 93 in 28.3 overs while Mavindra Dindyal and Zachary Jodah’s unbeaten 79-run partnership steered East Bank to 94 for 1 in 18.5 overs.Winning the toss and electing to bat on a slow wicket, West Demerara were put on the back foot early as Avesh Persaud guided a low full toss from Lovell to point and attempted a single but slipped when he was sent back and eventually fell short of his ground. Lovell then struck with his next delivery to see the Region Three side slip to 2-2 after Vishaul Persaud edged to Jodah at second slip.
But a 70-run third wicket partnership between Sachin Balgobin and Nitayanand Mathura revived the innings. Balgobin showed his temperament at the crease with an 82-ball resistance as he comfortably picked out bad balls and blocked good ones. His innings of 40 was laced with six boundaries before being the last batsman dismissed.
Mathura also looked solid for his 25, which was decorated with three boundaries, but with the off-spinner, Singh, in sublime form, his edge was broken and went to first slip.
Singh’s dismantling of West Demerara saw them spiraling from 72-2 to 84-9 as they lost eight wickets in the space of 21 runs. No other batsman reached double figures but Lovell ended with 4-22, including three scalps in one over, while Singh took 4-12.
In reply, East Bank lost Deonarine Dindyal with just 15 runs on the board but Mavindra Dindyal and Jodah, both former national under-15 players, showed their skill to finish the match.
Mavindra was the aggressor of the two, hitting his first ball at the crease for a six over long on off of Jeremiah Singh as he went on to finish on 45 not out from 44 balls. His knock also featured two fours.
Jodah, on the other hand, played the anchor role in his 47-ball 38, working the singles and picking the game for a few doubles.
The final round will see East Bank playing East Coast at Lusignan and Georgetown battling West Demerara at the Georgetown Cricket Club.
