Guyana Amazon Warriors’ opener, Chandrapaul Hemraj revealed that it was Shoaib Malik’s presence at the crease that allowed him to reach his maiden T20 century.
The 28-year-old left-hander needed one run to get to triple figures and one for Warriors to reach their target against Barbados Royals. He reached both landmarks by hitting a six.
Hemraj had earlier added 103 runs for the opening stand with Brandon King in their chase of 131 for victory.
However, when King was out leg before wicket to Nyeem Young, Hemraj was on 80. He was then joined by Malik who was happy to play the supporting role and give Hemraj most of the strike.
Hemraj revealed, “I was batting with Shoaib. He is very experienced and he tried calming me down. I must thank everyone, especially my wife, who is here supporting me,” he declared.
Young pitched the delivery wide outside off stump as if a gift to the man from Strathavon, East Coast Demerara to get high on his toes and upper cut the ball over backward point as he finished unbeaten on 105 from 56 balls. His knock featured 14 fours and five boundaries and sits as the most runs coming from boundaries in a single innings this season.
“It’s unbelievable you know. I’ve been getting some starts through the tournament and I am just happy to carry on in this game… I definitely feel more confident, feeling stronger, fitter, I get the endurance to bat longer,” Hemraj said after the match.
Hemraj, who played six matches for West Indies continued, “I’m happy to play some cricket coming into this tournament. I must thank my trainer for working with me for the past three or four weeks prior to the tournament.”
