Contrasting wins by Reliance Hustlers and Bacchus Bulls in the semi-finals of the South/Central T20 tournament Sunday ensured them a spot in this weekend’s final.
Playing at the lush Imam Bacchus Ground in Affiance, Essequibo Hustlers registered a comfortable 10-wicket win over Queenstown while a last ball finish in the second match saw Bacchus Bulls beating Rising Stars by one run.
Under graceful sunshine, Bacchus Bulls held their nerve to pull off a thrilling one-run win over nemesis, Rising Star Sports Club.
Winning the toss, Bulls opted to take first strike where they posted 147 for seven from their allotted 20 overs. They then kept Rising Star to 146 for eight when their overs ended.
Bulls were off to a solid start with Essequibo franchise opener, Parmesh ‘Rocky’ Parsotam and Guyana youth all-rounder, Sheldon Charles, adding 45 runs for the opening partnership.
Parsotam laced four boundaries on his way to a top score of 42 before being undone by Kemol Savory while Charles went on to hit three boundaries during his innings of 23. Navindra Persaud chipped in with 19 not out while Yougeshwar Lall (17) and extras (14) allowed the hosts to post a respectable total.
Neil Drakes was the pick of the bowlers with 2-21 while Quinton Sampson and Savory ended with two wickets each for 27 and 28 runs respectively. Otis Roberts also picked up one wicket for 23 runs.
In the chase, Bacchus Bulls gave Savory a life while on five in the second over and the national wicketkeeper/batsman capitalized as he went on to make 53 which was highlighted by six boundaries before falling to Parsotam.
Savory added 78 for the first wicket with Rohit Latchman who carved eight boundaries during his 40-run innings. Sampson returned to stroke 24 but Parsotam strangled the middle order as he ‘yorked’ Ansar Khan, Mavindra Dindyal and Govinda Sharma all without coming off the mark. The seamer ended with 4-15.
Earlier, action in the first semi-final, spirited bowling efforts from Ramesh Narine (3-11), Narendra Mandholall (2-5), Pavendra Persaud (2-9) and Trevis Simon (2-9) saw Queenstown being bowled out for a paltry 54 in 17.4 overs. No batsman reached double figures and Harrell Green and Akeel Wallace made seven each while extras tallied 16.
The one-sided affair saw Reliance rushing to 58 without loss in just five overs. Mark Austin led the way with 30 not out, highlighted by six boundaries while Rovendra Parasram made 10 not out. Extras accounted for 18.
Rising Star and Queenstown will take on each other for the third place position at 09.30 hours while Bacchus Bulls and Reliance Hustlers will battle in the final at 13.30 hours on Sunday at the same venue.
