Trinidad and Tobago U-19s survive scare vs US in Rising Stars opener

Trinidad and Tobago's under-19 men’s cricket team got a thrilling start to their 2025 West Indies Rising Stars Championships at St Paul’s Sports Complex, Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis on July 3 when they defeated USA II by one wicket.

The US are fielding two teams in the regional tournament and they almost got a major scalp on the opening day. Batting first, the US made a competitive score of 259 for seven, with skipper Amogh Arepally (66 off 77 balls) and opener Aryan Tummala (51 off 75) both hitting fifties. Tummala and fellow opener Ansh Bhoje (38 off 44) got the US innings off to a fine start with a 78-run partnership, with the other top order batsmen all getting starts.

Arepally played a true captain’s knock and held the innings together nicely before he was eventually dismissed by Fareez Ali (one for 51) in the final over.

Five TT bowlers took a wicket apiece, including skipper Abdul-Raheem Toppin who had figures of one for 38.

The US had a dream start with the ball as TT were 12 for two in only the third over after the dismissals of Stevon Gomez (two) and Christian Lall (duck).

TT then found a pair of steadying heads in opener Riyaad Mohammed (38) and former national under-15 captain Brendan Boodoo who starred with 75 off 86 balls. At the halfway stage, TT looked comfortable with their score on 121 for two.

The pendulum soon swung, though, as Mohammed and Boodoo were dismissed in consecutive overs to leave TT on 127 for four in the 27th over.

The procession of wickets continued as TT slipped into further trouble by the 41st over when Aaron Basant (five) was bowled by Bhoje (two for 35) to leave them on 188 for eight.

With the writing seemingly on the wall in the chase, TT got a lifeline as Christian Rampersad (49 not out off 54) and Aadian Racha (42 off 31) put on a 70-run stand for the ninth wicket in under eight overs.

Rampersad hit two fours and the solitary six in his innings, while a more aggressive Racha hit three fours and one six.

In the penultimate over, TT got a useful nine runs but they lost Racha via the run out route when he attempted to come back for a second run. TT’s score was on 258 for nine at that stage, leaving them needing two more runs for victory.

Known for his leg-spin, new batsman Aneal Rooplal got a single off the final ball of the penultimate over, before dabbing to the third man boundary off seamer Ritvik Appidi (two for 36) off the first ball of the final over to hand his team a nervy victory with five balls to spare.

In their second match on July 6, TT will meet defending champs Barbados at Conaree Sports Club. In their first match, Barbados showed their early intent in this year’s tournament when they thumped Guyana by 140 runs at Elquemedo Willett Park, Nevis.

Summarised Scores:

USA II – 259/7 from 50 overs (Amogh Arepally 66, Aryan Tummala 51, Ansh Bhoje 38, Dharshan Haribabu 36; Aaron Basant 1/21) vs TT U-19s – 263/9 from 49.1 overs (Brendan Boodoo 75, Christian Rampersad 49 not out, Aadian Racha 42, Riyaad Mohammed 38; A Bhoje 2/35, Ritvik Appidi 2/36). TT won by one wicket.