(GSL) Rangpur Riders dominated Cricket Victoria to win by 56 runs and become the inaugural ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) champions on a historic night in Providence.
The Riders put in a near flawless performance in the final and carried on where they left off after yesterday’s victory saw them finish second in the standings on net run rate. Victoria had looked the team to beat all tournament and Riders duly did put in an impressive all round performance.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Riders captain Nurul Hassan couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to the evening, his two opening batters hit the ground running and showcased some nerveless, skilful and at times scintillating batting to put together a towering partnership for the first wicket.
Both Steven Taylor and Soumya Sarkar hit half centuries as Riders came flying out of the traps, Victoria’s bowlers were treated with some disdain as the boundary hoardings were peppered constantly.
Taylor eventually fell for 68 to Karima Gore, but not before the partnership had reached 124 runs in 14 freewheeling overs.
Sarkar carried on despite losing his partner, smiting seven fours and five sixes to make 86 runs off 54 deliveries, a player of the match performance in the final that saw him undefeated having carried his bat throughout the innings as Riders posted a swaggering 178-3 off their twenty overs.
Victoria had looked confident all tournament but wilted in the final in the face of such a lofty target. Joe Clarke offered the most resistance for the Australian outfit with 40 off 22 deliveries from the top of the order but a procession of wickets saw Victoria bowled out in the 18th over as Riders capped off a superlative evening with both bat and ball.
The wickets were shared around by Riders’ bowlers but Harmeet Singh’s slow left arm tweak was the standout, he collected 3-19 off his four overs to challenge Sarkar for player of the match and secure Rangpur Riders grasp on the GSL trophy.
