Chanderpaul’s unbeaten 50 spur Guyana into President’s Cup final

Nov 04, 2009 Sports

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– CCC lose by 6 wickets

By Sean Devers

A well paced unbeaten 50 from Test left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul spurred Guyana to a 6-wicket win against CCC at the Guyana National Stadium last evening and a place in their 13th Regional One-Day title and first since 2005.

Chanderpaul 50 from 86 balls with 4 fours and a six and along with Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan (35*) added 91 from 119 balls in an unfinished 5th wicket stand to see Guyana to 152-4 off 40.3 overs replying to the 151 all out in 48.3 overs made by CCC.

West Indies ODI player Royston Crandon took 4-25 and got support from leg-spinner Davendra Bishoo (3-24) and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (2-30) as they conspired to dismiss the Floyd Reifer led students who elected to bat first on a low and slow track which restricted free flowing stroke play.

The 35-year-old Chanderpaul joined Sarwan with Guyana in trouble at 61-4 in the 21st over when the inform Narsingh Deonarine (31) played an impetuous lofted drive at off-spinner Ryan Austin and was caught at long-on.

Test player Sewnarine Chattergoon hit 2 fours but took 47 balls for his 13 while Travis Dowlin, one of 4 Guyanese on the 15-man West Indies team to leave on Monday for Australia and Chris Barnwell, who was sent in at number 3, were removed in the same over by pacer Kevin McLean to leave the score on 11-2.

Dowlin (7) was beaten for pace and bowled off the inside edge while Barnwell seemed unlucky to be given out caught behind before CCC suffered a big blow when McLean was forced to leave the field with a strained groin in his 4th over which was completed by Kishmar Catlin.

While McLean bowled with good pace on the docile pitch from one end, left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh (10-4-11-1) who opened the bowling, kept the shackles on the Guyana top-order with controlled bowling.

After Kantasingh removed Chattergoon at 53-3 Austin (10-2-20-1) sent back Deonarine, the competition’s only centurion just when he was beginning to look ominous. His 31 lasted 45 balls and was decorated with 2 fours and 2 effortless sixes and his demise left CCC, who reached the ‘final four’ with a win and 2 washed out games, in with the chance of creating the biggest upset in the competition.

However, Guyana’s most experienced pair joined forces on the lush green and billiard table smooth Providence sward to intelligently bat their team to victory with 9.3 overs to spare.

Chanderpaul was his usual dogged self and was content to push to ball for singles as Sarwan looked the more attractive and fluent of the 2 as good Captaincy from Reifer and ‘tight’ bowling from the CCC spinners, never allowed to batsmen to cut free until Chanderpaul took the batting power-play in the 40th over and cut loose with an array of shots to race to his 50.

A reverse sweep off Nekoli Parris, which reached the point boundary like a bullet off the first ball of the batting power-play was followed up by a six over long-off as Chanderpaul galloped to 46 leaving Guyana 5 to win.

Sarwan, who faced 54 balls and hit 3 fours, took a single to give Chanderpaul the strike in the 41st over and the region’s most dependable batsman duly pulled Catlin disdainfully for four to reach his 42nd List ‘A’ half century and finish the match in emphatic fashion.

Earlier, a disappointing crowd watched in sultry conditions as CCC lost Romel Currency (14) and Parris (13) to slip catches to be 42-2.

Royston Crandon, who bowled Parris with his first ball and Deonarine bowled in tandem as the runs dried up before Bishoo had Phillips, who laboured for 55 balls for 22 and never looked like a man who had just played 2 Test matches and scored 94 in one of them, caught at mid-off at 71-3.

Two runs later Kirk Wilkinson (1) was LBW to Bishoo who also accounted from Kejorn Ottley (26) as CCC slumped to 80-5 in 29 overs.

The 37-year-old Floyd Reifer pushed and prodded for 29 balls in his 13 before the former West Indies Captain was taken at long-on as Royston Crandon struck again at 120-7 after Chadwick Walton (2), one of 4 Test players in the CCC side, was magnificently caught at slip by Dowlin off Permaul.

McLean offered some fight with 23 while Kantasingh batted with a level head at number 11 before he lost his concentration and wicket, top-edging a sweep to short backward square as Permaul ended the disappointing CCC batting performance.

Guyana now face defending champions Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow at the Stadium in the Day/Night final from 13:30hrs as they hunt their 9th title Regional One-Day title since claiming their first in 1980 in Antigua. Chanderpaul was named Man-of-the-Match.

 

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