Central beat East in high-scoring TTCB U-19 final

THE Central zone emerged victorious in the TT Cricket Board’s (TTCB) Under-19 Interzone 50-over final at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Balmain, Couva on April 11 when they got a 16-run win against the East zone in a high-scoring affair.

After winning the toss, Central put on a show with the bat as they posted a mammoth 313 for nine in the allotted 50 overs. Opening batsman Luke Ali top-scored with 92 off 87 balls, with Aadi Ramsaran (46 off 55), Christiano Ramanan (39 off 23) and captain Fareez Ali (40 off 42) all chipping in nicely. Luke and Ramsaran put on 99 for the second wicket to help build a platform for the Central innings.

Despite the carnage, tournament MVP Abdul-Raheem Toppin starred with the ball for the East team with figures of five for 55. Alejandro Kassiram had figures of two for 35.

Due to a bushfire and smoke interruption at the northern end of the ground, the game was delayed for just over an hour before members of the TT Fire Service hosed down the outskirts of the ground.

Set a revised target of 264 from 39 overs, East had an almighty go but they just fell short as they were restricted to 237 for eight.

Opening batsmen Christian Lall (53 off 75) and Joseph Mendoza (54 off 72) got East off to a solid start as they posted a 110-run partnership before the former was bowled by Ramone Sawh (two for 30) in the 21st over. East slipped to 148 for three at the end of the 29th over as Mendoza and Samir Saroop (19) were dismissed off consecutive balls. East slipped to further trouble at 153 for five in the 31st over when Kassiram (two) and Stephan McPherson (one) were also dismissed off consecutive balls.

Toppin (42 off 25) and Renaldo Fournillier (41 off 21) gave the East team hope with an aggressive 76-run partnership for the sixth wicket before the former was bowled by leg-spinner Aneal Rooplal (one for 35) in the 37th over.

East were on 229 for six at that stage, but with 35 runs required off the last two overs, the task was too great for the East team as Central held their nerve to get the victory.

Luke won the Man-of-the-Match award for his innings of 92.

Summarised Scores:

CENTRAL: 313/9 from 50 overs (Luke Ali 92, Aadi Ramsaran 46, Fareez Ali 40; Abdul-Raheem Toppin 5/55, Alejandro Kassiram 2/35) vs EAST: 247/8 from 39 overs chasing a revised target of 264 (Joseph Mendoza 54, Christian Lall 53, A Toppin 42; Ramone Sawh 2/30, F Ali 2/67). Central won by 16 runs.