Lara XI level T20 charity series vs Ganga XI

HUNDREDS flocked to the Daren Ganga Recreation Ground in Barrackpore on Saturday afternoon to see the former and current West Indies cricket stars in the Daren Ganga Foundation Charity T20 match. They left satisfied with Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo and Ganga all entertaining.

The Brian Lara XI won by one wicket over the Daren Ganga XI. The result means after four charity matches, the series is now squared 2-2.

Scores of children, who would have been too young to witness Lara and Ganga in the prime of their careers, rushed to take photographs and get autographs from the former Windies batsmen after the match.

“I think both teams competed well, I think the spectators were treated to great entertainment with ball and bat...we had a really great day playing cricket. It happens in the game sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” Ganga said.

Ganga thanked former West Indies players Lara, Rajindra Dhanraj, Dinanath Ramnarine, returning player Dwayne Bravo and the current West Indies Women’s pair of Reniece Boyce and Anisa Mohammed for spending the day with him. He also thanked both teams, saying, “All those cricketers who played alongside us, who contributed to the foundation, it was greatly appreciated and we welcome you next year again.”

Lara said, “You look at the crowd and you see how amazing the people from Barrackpore came out to support, so the real winners is definitely the Daren Ganga Foundation.” Batting first, Ganga struck 34 and Richard Ramreka also made 34 as the Ganga XI posted 123/9 in 20 overs. Karrel Bissoon (2/2) and Sham Singh (2/16) both took two wickets for the Lara XI.

In reply, Lara XI were three wickets down with less than 20 on the board, but Bravo slammed an aggressive 43 to put the team back in control.

The Lara XI kept losing wickets and were 81/6 after ten overs. The only chance for the Ganga XI to win was by bowling out the Lara XI as the latter were always ahead of the run rate.

The fans got some excitement as two run outs in the 18th over, including Lara, meant the score read 122/9. Dominic Edwards showed confidence when he came to the middle lashing a six as Lara XI closed on 129/9 in 18.1 overs.

SUMMARISED SCORES

Daren Ganga XI 123/9 (20 overs) (Daren Ganga 34, Richard Ramreka 34; Karrel Bissoon 2/2, Sham Singh 2/16) vs Brian Lara 129/9 (18.1 overs) (Dwayne Bravo 43, Brian Lara 43, Keval Ragbir 2/14, Dinanath Ramnarine 2/27) Lara XI won by one wicket