Trinidad and Tobago snatch last-ball win
Published:Monday | January 17, 2011 | 12:00 AM
ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):
Captain Daren Ganga scrambled two runs to long on off the last ball of the game as Trinidad and Tobago held their nerve to beat a determined Canada by five wickets in a frenetic finish to their Group B clash, in the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship on Saturday night.
Chasing Canada's rather modest 128 for five at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, T&T were pegged back by a combination of intelligent bowling and injudicious shot selection and were left requiring 10 from the last over to win the contest.
Ganga could only get a full toss from medium pacer Rizwan Cheema as far as square leg for a single off the first ball, but Kevon Cooper changed the equation when he banged the next delivery through cover for four.
Singles off the next three deliveries left Trinidad and Tobago needing two runs off the last ball and Ganga secured the couple they needed to earn his side's second win and put them on top of Group B with eight points.
Ganga finished unbeaten on 27 from 31 balls, while Man-of-the-Match opener Lendl Simmons top scored with 31 from 29 balls.
It was a dramatic finish to a game which seemed headed for a straight forward result after Zubin Surkari (42) and Ruvindu Gunasekera (39) spurred Canada to a hardly imposing total, after opting to bat first.
Limped out
Meanwhile, the Leeward Islands limped out of the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship without so much as a whimper, crashing to a lame 46-run defeat to Hampshire on Saturday.
Chasing the English county's 156 for five, the Leewards never mounted a serious effort and tumbled to an embarrassing 110 all out off 19.5 overs, their third straight defeat in Group B at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground. They will travel to Barbados for their final game against Canada next Friday at Kensington Oval with only pride to play for.
Hampshire were propelled by opener Johann Myburgh who slammed 76 from 57 balls with four fours and six sixes, while captain Jimmy Adams got 30 from 24 balls with two fours and two sixes.