Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
Fides Ltd Scarlet Ibis Scorchers blazed to the Dream XI T10 Blast title after they defeated Soca Kings by 22 runs at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 106 for victory and needing 23 runs from the final over, Soca Kings were blitzed when Scorchers pacer Eric Garcia masterfully bowled six dot balls to stall their run chase and claim top honours at the tournament’s third edition.
Batting first, Scorchers had a wobbly start as they lost three wickets in the first three overs, with just 30 runs on the board.
After smacking Soca Kings spinner Sunil Narine for a boundary off his second ball, Daron Cruickshank (four) was bowled with the next delivery. Kamil Pooran (five) was next to go, caught by Jason Mohammed off Ahkeel Mollon in the second over.
And in the third, Jon-Russ Jagessar had Scorchers skipper Tion Webster (four) caught behind by Dejourn Charles, which made way for Anderson Mahase and Mikhil Govia in the middle.
The pair added 26 runs to the partnership before Mahase (18) was caught by Jarlarnie Seales off Sion Hackett’s pace. Govia (14) was removed in similar fashion as Hackett had him caught by Kirstan Kallicharan. At that point, Scorchers were 60/5 after 5.5 overs.
New batsman Dexter Sween went on to stabilise the innings by smashing 29 runs from nine balls, including four sixes. Andrew Rambaran also chipped in with 13.
Narine (2/6) was the best bowler for Soca Kings while Hackett (2/26) was also among the wickets. In their turn at the crease, Soca Kings had a fair start with opener Kallicharan (14) and Narine (15) getting starts. Their dismissals welcomed skipper Jason Mohammed (16) and Dejourn Charles (13) to the middle, who both tried to stabilise the innings.
But Scorchers continuously threatened with the ball and after removing the duo, their only resistance with the bat came from Jarlarnie Seales (19), who eventually top scored for them.
Soca Kings lost middle- and lower-order wickets in quick succession, and needed a hefty 23 runs from the final over. Garcia was unplayable to seal the win for Scarlet Ibis Scorchers.
In the playoff match earlier on, Scorchers earned a title shot after beating Steelpan Players by 12 runs. The former batted first and got to 125/3 after ten overs, with Webster blasting an unbeaten 70 from 24 balls while Pooran had 28.
Steelpan Players tried to reach the target but tight bowling from Scorchers’ attack restricted them to 113/5. Adrian Ali (39 not out) and Isaiah Rajah (22 not out) topped the scorers.
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