Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
STEELPAN Strikers advanced to Friday’s Dream XI Trinidad T10 Blast semi-final after they defeated Blue Devils by six wickets at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Thursday.
At 11 am, the Imran Khan-captained unit plays Leatherback Giants for a spot in the title match, which follows from 2.45 pm, against league leaders Soca Kings.
On Thursday, another impressive batting display from Evin Lewis (76 not out off 24 balls) led Steelpan Strikers to a commanding seven-wicket win over Blue Devils and a place in the semi-final.
Batting first, Blue Devils struggled to get going but were given a fighting chance from batsmen Jyd Goolie (48) and Navin Stewart (45), who led them to 119/4. Steven Katwaroo scored 11.
Strikers’ skipper Khan bagged a precious 3/14 in his two overs and was responsible for brilliantly running out Goolie with a direct hit from a tight angle.
With just two runs per ball needed to secure victory, opening batsman Lewis took a while to get going. Kirstan Kallicharan started nicely with two fours off Goolie in the first over but he perished soon after, for just eight, caught by Khary Pierre.
Anthony Alexander (31 off 21) then teamed up with Lewis to form a 102-run partnership which carried them to 110 before the former was bowled by Blue Devils captain Rayad Emrit.
Needing two runs from the final four balls and with Lewis on strike, the talismanic batsman smashed Isaiah Rajah for four to total 122/3, with three balls to spare.
In the earlier match, Soca Kings almost missed out on automatically qualifying for the final when they lost to the already-eliminated Scarlet Ibis Scorchers by 40 runs.
This loss greatly reduced their overall net run rate, which dropped to 1.2567, but still finished just above second-ranked Leatherback Giants (1.2561). The top team after all round-robin matches automatically advances to the final.
In that match, Scarlet Ibis Scorchers batted first and got to 136/4. They were led by a wonderful knock of 70 (28 balls) from Ewart Nicholson and 25 from Daniel Williams. Keagan Simmons did the damage with the ball as he picked up 3/18.
In reply, a very slow start from Soca Kings saw them struggling at 64/2 after seven overs. Shazan Babwah top-scored with 21 from 21 while big hitters Leonardo Julien (19), Jesse Bootan (18) and Jason Mohammed (17) were all restricted by spells from Strassark Sankar (2/25) and Tino Webster (1/7). They closed on 96/5 after ten overs.
Summarised Scores
BLUE DEVILS 119/4 – Jyd Goolie 48, Navin Stewart 45; Imran Khan 3/19 vs STEELPAN STRIKERS 122/3 – Evin Lewis 76 not out, Anthony Alexander 31. – Steelpan Strikers won by seven wickets.
SCARLET IBIS SCORCHERS 136/4 – Ewart Nicholson 70, Damian Williams 25; Keagan Simmons 3/18 vs SOCA KINGS 96/5 – Shazan Babwah 21, Leonardo Julien 19, Jesse Bootan 18, Jason Mohammed 17; Strassark Sankar 2/25
