Isaiah Rajah, Jason Mohammed slam 100s in final Red Force practice match

VETERAN middle-order batsman Jason Mohammed (107 off 87 balls) and Isaiah Rajah (100 not out off 108) both slammed centuries in Trinidad and Tobago Red Force's third and final practice match on October 16 as the Joshua Da Silva XI earned a 28-run win against the Amir Jangoo XI at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba in a day/night affair.

The game was reduced to 45 overs per side after steady rainfall. For the second straight game, the Da Silva XI opted to bat first and they cashed in massively – plundering a daunting score of 313 for three. With the ball, the Da Silva XI were then led by fast bowler Anderson Phillip who grabbed impressive figures of five for 48 as the Jangoo XI were bowled out for 285 in the 45th over.

The Da Silva XI lost opening batsman Kjorn Ottley for just five, but they were in control thereafter, with left-hander Mark Deyal (77 off 47) and the pair of Mohammed and Rajah batting the Jangoo XI out of the match.

Deyal struck four sixes and nine fours in a brutal innings, and dominated a 62-run partnership with Rajah before he was run out in the 15th over. The Da Silva XI were placed on 96 for two at that stage, and Mohammed and Rajah strengthened their team's dominance in the contest with a brilliant 195-run stand for the third wicket. Rajah struck eight fours and six in his knock, with the 38-year-old Mohammed slamming seven fours and seven sixes in his stay at the crease before he was eventually dismissed by allrounder Joshua James (one for 73) in the 43rd over.

Top-order batsmen Tion Webster and Jangoo both scored fifties in the first practice match, but they were dismissed cheaply for a second straight game, falling for three and duck respectively to Phillip in the fifth over.

Vikash Mohan (49 off 54) and Cephas Cooper (57 off 58) put together an 80-run stand for the third wicket before Deyal (one for 57) removed the former in the 20th over. Cooper became Phillip's third victim just three overs later, as the Jangoo XI slipped to 119 for four.

After a 47-run partnership between Jyd Goolie and Jordan Warner (14), the Jangoo XI lost three wickets in quick succession as Warner, James (two) and Navin Bidaisee (15) were dismissed to see the Jangoo XI sliding to 185 for seven in the 34th over. Off-spinner Bryan Charles (two for 39) took the scalps of James and Bidaisee in consecutive overs.

With wickets falling around him at an alarming rate, Goolie stood tall and he blazed his way to an unbeaten 95 off just 69 balls – hitting six fours and five sixes in the process. Goolie put on 36 for the eighth wicket with Shatrughanan Rambaran (15), before adding 40 with an aggressive Mikkel Govia, who struck 26 off just 11 balls before being dismissed by Phillip.

Goolie was denied a century, though, as he was left stranded at the non-striker's end when Phillip cleaned up Shaaron Lewis (four) in the final over to complete a five-wicket haul and seal a comfortable win for the Da Silva XI.

Red Force, defending champions of the regional Super50 competition, will begin their 2024 title defence against the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St Augustine on October 29.

Summarised Scores:

JOSHUA DA SILVA XI – 313/3 from 45 overs (Jason Mohammed 107, Isaiah Rajah 100 not out, Mark Deyal 77; Shaaron Lewis 1/44) vs AMIR JANGOO XI – 285 from 44.3 overs (Jyd Goolie 95 not out, Cephas Cooper 57, Vikash Mohan 49, Mikkel Govia 26; Anderson Phillip 5/48, Bryan Charles 2/39). Da Silva XI won by 28 runs.