Ramdin responsible 2nd day ton help T&T to 416

Jan 17, 2010 Sports

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Chandrika hits debut 50 as Guyana reach 171-4

By Sean Devers in Antigua In association with Leisure Inn, Carib Beer, Tower Hotel
& Raphael’s Reality

West Indies Vice-Captain Denesh Ramdin hit a responsible unbeaten century to push Trinidad and Tobago to 416 against Guyana on the 2nd day of their historic Day/Night Regional 4-day cricket match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here yesterday.
Arguably the smallest weekend crowd to witness a cricket match involving Guyana in Antigua in the last decade watched as Guyana reached 171-4 by the close with 20-year-old debutant Rajendra Chandrika, a former West Indies youth player with 5 regional One-Day games to his name, leading the way with an attractive 65 with 8 fours and a six from 132 minutes and 122 balls.
Narsingh Deonarine, the team’s most accomplished batsman is unbeaten on 33 and fellow left-hander Vishaul Singh is with him on 21 as Guyana still need another  95 runs to avoid being asked to follow on.
T&T began the day on 306-7 with Ramdin 7 away from his 15th First-Class 50 and Dave Mohamed yet to score and the pair defied the Guyana attack for all but one ball of the 1st session before Mohamed (37) was removed by the hard working Esuan Crandon on the stroke of Lunch to leave T&T on 387-8 at the interval.
On a day blessed with glorious sunshine, the Guyanese toiled hard on a plaid track as Ramdin and the left-handed Mohamed added 85 runs for the 8th wicket before the new ball was forced upon them with the score on 358-7.
With 119 overs completed, the umpires decided that the condition of the ball was too bad and a new ball was ordered since more than 100 overs had been bowled with the old ball.
After Mohamed was dropped on 4 by Davendra Bishoo at point off Brendon Bess he took the attack to the bowlers in his cameo innings while Ramdin, who began his innings quietly on Friday, looked very confident yesterday and by lunch was unbeaten on 85.
Both Bess and Esuan Crandon worked hard on the flat track while the spinners, Narsingh Deonarine and especially left-armer Veerasammy Permaul and Bishoo bowled too many bad balls that were either cut or punched off the back foot through the off-side.
After lunch Ravi Rampaul was trapped leg before to Deonarine for a duck while Amit Jaggernauth (5) was also leg before to Deonarine, who finished with 3-71 from 27.5 overs, finished off the innings 31 minutes after the interval.
Ramdin, who deliberately took most of the strike in the 28-run last wicket partnership with Jaggernauth, hit 9 fours, faced 222 balls and batted for close to four and a half hours for his 6th First-Class hundred.
Crandon supported Deonarine with 2-60 from 25 overs while Permaul (2-88 from 25), Bishoo (2-96 from 31) and Bess (1-92 from 23) were the other wicket takers for Guyana.
Already without Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul due to injury, Guyana also missed the services of West Indies ODI player Royston Crandon for this game because of influenza and a lot depended on Skipper Sewnarine Chattergoon to give his team a solid foundation since Chandrika was playing his first match at this level.
However, Chattergoon (3) soon ‘played on’ to Rayed Emrit as Guyana lost their first wicket with just 11 runs on the board.
Chandrika, who magnificently cut Emrit for four for his first runs at this level, played 2 upper cuts for boundaries before Tea which brought the small ground to life and by the break he and the experienced Dowlin were staging a recovery with their team on 42-1.
Chandrika, who hails from Enterprise on the East Coast of Demerara but plays for city club Everest, was given a life on 6 off Rampaul when Justin Guillien at short leg failed to hold a firm drive and his array of audacious shots on the fast outfield has already set tongues wagging here in Antigua about his natural talent and the ease at which he plays his shots.
He and Dowlin, who has scored 3 fifties in his 4 Tests although he has just managed 4 tons in 78 First-Class games, took Guyana to 97 before Dowlin (37) pushed forward to off-spinner Jaggernauth and was taken at short leg.
Re-called West Indies left-hander Deonarine, who last year became the first player to reach 1000 runs in a regional first class season, joined the elegant Chandrika and together they saw the South Americans to 111 before Chandrika edged leg-spinner Imran Khan to the keeper as the T&T team employed attacking fields throughout Guyana’s innings yesterday.
Assad Fudadin has been one of the in-form batsmen coming into this game and his impetuous lofted drive which went ‘miles’ into the air to be taken at mid-off would have been a major disappointment to Coach Rabindra Seeram.
Fudadin’s dismissal off Jaggernauth for 11 left Guyana on 133-4 within the last 30 minutes of play yesterday and a lot will now depend on the left-handed pair of Vishaul Singh and Deonarine to get Guyana to as close as they can to T&T imposing total on the penultimate day today.
Meanwhile in scores from the other matches; Jamaica vs. Leewards –
Jamaica reached 378/8 at stumps replying to the Leewards 188, (Baugh 56*, Miller 16* to not out batsmen) lead by 190.
For Jamaica Hinds 70, Bernard 39 Marshall 13, Nash 15 Pagon 67 Lambert 58, while the wicket takers for the Leewards: Baker 3, Tonge 2 Martin 1.
(Leewards Inns: Morton 60, Thomas 52; Bernard 4/38, Miller 3/54, Powell 1/34)
And Barbados vs. Combined Campuses –
Barbados 301 all out at stumps replying to the Combined Campuses 213.
Collins 0* and Best 28 was the last out to give them a lead by 88. Richards 22, Haynes 52, Edwards17, Hinds 29, Stoute 74 were the batsmen leading the Bajans. Wkts went to: McClean 1, Wallace 3, Bennett 1, Kantasingh 1, Austin 4
(CCC Inns: Parris 49, Currency 45*; Charles 4/46, Hinds 3/41, Roach 1/37).

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