Vikash Mohan (165) blazes Clarke Road to TTCB 50-over title

VIKASH Mohan's destructive unbeaten century propelled Clarke Road to the TT Cricket Board 50-over premiership I crown with a 119-run win over Queen's Park Cricket Club in the final at National Cricket Centre in Couva on Saturday.

Batting first, Clarke Road posted a massive 345/4 in 50 overs.

Mohan, who made his debut for the TT Red Force earlier this year, continues to add to his resume. The right-handed opener was ruthless for the entire innings, ending on an astonishing 165 not out off 147 deliveries with 12 fours and seven sixes.

Defending champions Queen's Park, who were bidding for six straight 50-over titles, had no answer for the 28 year old.

After opener Nicholas Sookdeosingh fell for 45 off 38 balls and Joshua Persaud fell for seven, Mohan and Yannick Ottley took charge of the innings to crush the Parkites' spirits. The pair combined to put on over 200 for the third wicket.

Fast bowler Sion Hackett and medium pacer Tion Webster were punished, returning figures that they would wish to forget.

Webster conceded 64 runs in six overs without taking a wicket and Hackett also failed to finish among the wickets while leaking 62 runs in seven overs.

Mohan and Ottley added 208 runs for the third wicket to the delight of the Clarke Road fans. Pacer Shannon Gabriel got the breakthrough in the 47th over as they pushed to reach 350.

Ottley was caught on the boundary for 91 off 84 balls, an innings which included nine fours and two sixes.

Mohan continued his destruction at the crease as Clarke Road ended on an imposing total.

Tobagonian Joshua James ended on ten not out and Gabriel was the most successful bowler for the Parkites with 2/62 in nine overs.

Chasing a mammoth 346 to win, only opener Jeremy Solozano offered resistance with a knock of 101 off 105 balls with five fours and four sixes. Even a couple early dropped catches by Clarke Road failed to help the Queen's Park cause.

Tion Webster and Solozano gave the Parkites a promising start with the former attacking the bowlers. When Webster fell for 32 the innings lost some impetus and Queen's Park were constantly behind the run rate.

Wickets continued to fall around Solozano as the target always seemed like an impossible task. The Clarke Road bowlers, led by spinner Samuel Roopnarine (3/43), had their tails up as they sensed victory. Dejourn Charles, who had earlier dropped a regulation catch, was spectacular on the boundary holding on to a few catches.

Vikash Mohan and Justyn Gangoo grabbed two wickets each as Queen's Park could only score 226 in 43.4 overs.

Summarised Scores:

CLARKE ROAD 345/4 (50 overs) (Vikash Mohan 165 not out, Yannick Ottley 91, Nicholas Sookdeosingh 45; Shannon Gabriel 2/62) vs QPCC 226 (43.4 overs) (Jeremy Solozano 101, Tion Webster 32, Samuel Roopnarine 3/43, V Mohan 2/34, Justyn Gangoo 2/42) Clarke Road won by 119 runs.