Celebrating his call up to the West Indies T20 team left arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul grabbed five wickets against the T&T Red Force yesterday at the Queen’s Park Oval and has given his team an excellent chance at an easy victory on the fourth and final day of their Digicel CPL Four-day clash today.
Set 54 runs for victory, Guyana closed on three without loss.
SCORES: T&T Red Force 202 & 183 vs Guyana Jaguars 330 all out & 3/0.
Any lead on a pitch that is slow and offering assistance to the spinners would have proven handy and Jaguars got more than they bargained for. Late order hitting got them a more than useful lead of 128 runs on first innings and by the time Red Force skipper Kyle Hope was padding up to come out and open his team’s second innings, even he would have been thinking what’s the sense.
He did not last long, staying out there for only two balls before returning to the pavilion for a ‘duck’. His dismissal started a procession to and from the pitch for the locals on the Sunday afternoon, that has now left them in dire straits on the final day.
Permaul using good variation and a disciplined line and length played on the minds of the locals and it showed in his eventual figures of 7/48. The pint sized player however did not start the destruction, it was West Indies Test leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo who led the way and created panic among the Red Force batsmen. He got generous turn and was able to outfox the best of the Red Force in Isaiah Rajah. The languid batsman looked good but on reaching 40 was trapped leg before to Bishoo. He faced 84 balls and sent four to the ropes in an innings that promised much more.
Just as the first innings, other batsmen got starts but failed to carry on and this as a result Red Force could not build meaningful partnerships. Opener Evin Lewis belted 25 with two fours and two sixes, Yannic Carriah stroked a workmanlike 30, Imran Khan an attractive 28 and Marlon Richards a brutal 25.
Earlier, Guyana resisted well and counted 82 runs on the third day for the loss of their last two wickets. After the fall of their last recognised batsman in Raymond Reifer for the well played 55, the Guyanese outfit slipped to 273 for nine after resuming on the bedtime position of 246/8. Reifer fell to the persistent Comets spinners Bryan Charles after negotiating 152 balls and hitting six fours.
The last wicket pair of Romario Shepherd and West Indies Under-19 player Kemo Paul frustrated the T&T Red Force bowlers to add 57 for the last wicket. Shepherd made 53 of 85 balls with six fours, while Paul got an unbeaten 27 of 37 balls with three fours and a six. Charles ended with 4/91, Marlon Richards 4/57 and Khary Pierre 2/35.
Play on the second day today resumes at 10am.
