Steelpan Titans crush Soca Strikers by five wickets in U23 Cup

Steelpan Titans notched their first win of the Cricket West Indies/TT Cricket Board Under-23 Cup after securing a five-wicket victory over Soca Strikers Under-19 in a rescheduled round two fixture at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva, on December 9.

A match-winning, unbeaten knock of 56 runs from Nick Ramlal guided Steelpan Titans to a triumphant 146/5 from 26.3 overs, in reply to Soca Strikers Under-19’s tally of 144/9 from 28 overs, who batted first.

Soca Strikers were led by a fiery knock of 47 runs from 27 balls courtesy Darius Battoosingh while opener Salem Khan hit 43 from 49 deliveries.

Restricting them at the crease were Calvin Loubon, who snapped up an impressive 4/20, while Ramlal also shone with the ball with 3/17. Fast bowler Jane Agard also finished among the wickets with 2/22.

In response, Ramlal led the charge with the bat for Steelpan Titans with his unbeaten half-century while opener Riyaad Mohammed chipped in with 32. Jayden Kent also scored 20.

Their combination with the willow-handed Soca Strikers U19 their first loss in two matches. Topping the bowling for them were Daron Dhanraj (2/13) and Renaldo Fournillier (2/31).

The U23 Cup resumes on December 10 with round three matches: Steelpan Titans versus Scarlet Blazers at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba and Soca Strikers U19 up against Cocrico Warriors at the National Cricket Centre.