Source: Trinidad and Tobago Sunday Express
Defending champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force secured their position at the top of the CG United Super50 Cup standings with an impressive nine-wicket victory over the Barbados Pride in their final group stage match at the Queen’s Park Oval yesterday.
Kjorn Ottley scored his third List A century, while Amir Jangoo became the tournament’s leading run-scorer as the two players spearheaded the batting effort after spinners Yannic Cariah and Mark Deyal excelled with the ball.
After a delayed start due to wet spots on the outfield, the Pride batted first and posted a competitive score of 258 for nine in their reduced 45 overs. Opener Leniko Boucher scored 81 runs from 72 balls, and Raymon Reifer contributed 70 runs from 92 balls, with both players hitting half-centuries.
Leg-spinner Cariah was the standout bowler for the Red Force, taking four wickets for 53 runs, while Deyal, playing in his first match of the tournament, claimed three wickets for 32 runs.
In response, Ottley scored an unbeaten 112 runs off 132 balls, hitting 11 fours and two sixes, while Jangoo finished not out on 93 runs from 96 balls, including four fours and two sixes. The Red Force reached a total of 259 for one in just 43.2 overs, securing their fifth win of the tournament.
Ottley reached his century with a pull shot for four off Pride skipper Kyle Mayers. After hitting the milestone, he followed up with another four, driving the ball through the off side as the Red Force moved to 221 for one after 39 overs, needing just 38 runs from the final six overs.
At the other end, Jangoo also raced to his third half-century of the competition, surpassing Justin Greaves to become the leading run-scorer. Greaves had accrued 401 runs, while Jangoo’s performance on the day brought his total to 430.
Together, Ottley and Jangoo shared an unbroken 173-run partnership for the second wicket, driving the game firmly in their team’s favour.
Earlier, the hosts showed their intensity in the field from the very first over when Tion Webster sprinted from wide mid-on to run out Zachary McCaskie for a “duck” after he attempted to sneak a single off Shannon Gabriel.
Despite the early setback, the Pride fought back with a strong second-wicket partnership of 132 runs between Reifer and Boucher. However, the Red Force regained control once Boucher was dismissed in the 25th over, bowled by Deyal for 81 runs off 72 deliveries, which included ten fours and a six.
Reifer looked dangerous at the other end, hitting two sixes off left-arm spinner Khary Pierre before Deyal took his wicket as he missed a drive. Reifer’s innings included three fours and two sixes. Deyal also took the wicket of Pride skipper Mayers, who scored just 12 runs, while Yannic Cariah claimed four wickets towards the end of the innings, allowing the Pride to surpass the 250-run mark.
In the end, it didn’t matter as Jangoo and Ottley ensured a convincing victory for the Red Force.
The Red Force will finish at the top of the group, regardless of the outcomes of today’s final group stage matches.
Today, the Combined Campuses and Colleges will face the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Oval at 9 a.m., while the West Indies Academy will take on the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground at the UWI St Augustine campus, also at 9 a.m.
The semi-finals are scheduled to be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Wednesday and Thursday at 1 p.m. each day. The Red Force will face the fourth-placed team in one of the semi-finals, while the second and third-placed teams will compete in the other.
The final will take place on Saturday at Tarouba at 1 p.m.
Summarised scores:
Barbados Pride: 258-9 in 45 overs (Leniko Boucher 81, Raymon Reifer 70; Yannic Cariah 4/53, Mark Deyal 3/32)
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force: 259-1 in 43.3 overs (Kjorn Ottley 112 not out, Amir Jangoo 93 not out, Tion Webster 41)
—Red Force won by nine wickets.