Trinidad rattle Somerset Sabres

Gangas brigade gets off to cracking start with 44-run triumph

Electing to bat, Trinidad made 150 for nine, but Somerset never found any sort of rhythm and posted only 106. Sabres’ defeat has left the group A wide open. Sabres, who had defeated Deccan Chargers in their opening encounter, will now have to wait till the match between Chargers and Trinidad to determine their entry into the League Phase.

Chasing 151, Somerset needed a good start from Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick. However, the famed duo seemed lethargic in the middle as Sabres struggled for momentum.

Dwayne Bravo ended the tortured stay of Trescothick when the medium-pacer managed to find the outside edge of the left-hander’s bat for Denesh Ramdin to complete the formalities behind the wicket.

Langer, the former Australian opener known for his tenacious ways at the crease, was a pale shadow of his customary self on a cool evening. There was neither timing nor conviction in his shots and Sherwin Ganga finally gave him the return ticket.

Once their most trusted and experienced batsmen returned to the hut without any substantial contribution, Somerset folded without much fight as they struggled to score against Trinidad’s spinners. Zander de Bruyn played a fine innings, but lonely cameos were not enough to prevent Trinidad from etching a comfortable win.

Earlier, Trinidad could not exactly utilise a brisk start given to them by openers Lendl Simmons and William Perkins. The two Trinidadians played a few forceful shots while taking the score to 43 in a little over four overs.

Pace bowlers Charl Willoughby and Ben Philips, though went for some runs, fetched quick breakthroughs to snap the initial momentum. Left-arm seamer Willoughby breached the defence of Perkins while Philips scalped Simmons as Trinidad went into a shell.

After that, Trinidad’s progress was based on small but useful partnerships that middle and lower-order stitched together. The West Indian side should thank Ramdin for guiding them to a competitive total.

The diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman never tried to hit out, but concentrated more on keeping his wicket towards the end for a late charge while marshalling others around him. The intended late charge never materialised, as Ramdin struggled on a rather sluggish pitch against Somerset slow bowlers Arul Suppiah and Max Waller, but he managed stay on till his side posted a good total. Man of the match Sherwin Ganga executed a couple of beefy hits as Trinidad found the acceleration towards the end.

SCORE BOARD

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Lendl Simmons c Thomas b Philips 22 (19b, 4x4), William Perkins b Willoughby 20 (11b, 3x4, 1x6), Darren Bravo c&b Willoughby 9 (3b, 1x6), Darren Ganga b Waller 23 (18b, 1x6), Dwayne Bravo c Suppiah b Waller 0 (1b), Denesh Ramdin b Thomas 39 (39b, 2x4), Keiron Pollard c Suppiah b Willoughby 12 (14b, 1x4), Ravi Rampaul b Thomas 2 (5b), Sherwin Ganga (not out) 18 (8b, 2x4, 1x6), Dave Mohammad (run out) 0 (1b), Samuel Badree (not out) 1 (1b). Extras (W-4) 4. Total (for 9 wkts, 20 overs) 150.
Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Simmons), 2-49 (Perkins), 3-59 (Darren Bravo), 4-60 (Dwyane Bravo), 5-90 (Ganga), 6-121 (Pollard), 7-128 (Rampaul), 8-149 (Ramdin), 9-149 (Mohammad).

Bowling: Charl Willoughby 4-0-35-3 (w-2), Alfonso Thomas 4-0-26-2, Ben Philips 4-0-43-1, Max Waller 4-0-27-2, Arun Suppiah 4-0-19-0 (w-2).

Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 59/3.

SOMERSET SABRES: Marcus Trescothick c Ramdin b Dwayne Bravo 3 (5b), Justin Langer c Perkins b S Ganga 15 (22b, 2x4), Craig Keiswetter c Darren Bravo b Dwayne Bravo 4 (9b, 1x4), Zander de Bruyn (not out) 43 (38b, 3x4, 1x6), Arul Suppiah  b Mohammad 6 (12b), Peter Trego c Darren Bravo b Mohammad 6 (11b, 1x4), James Hildreth (run out) 0 (2b), Ben Philips c Simmons b S Ganga 5 (5b, 1x4), Alfonso Thomas (run out) 9 (6b, 1x4), Max Walker b Dwayne Bravo 1 (7b), Charl Willoughby b Dwayne Bravo 0 (2b). Extras (LB-7, W-7) 14. Total (all out, 20 overs) 106.

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Trescothick), 2-26 (Keiswetter), 3-28 (Langer), 4-52 (Suppiah), 5-69 (Trego), 6-69 (Hildreth), 7-74 (Philips), 8-96 (Thomas), 9-106 (Waller).

Bowling: Ravi Rampaul 3-0-14-0 (w-3), Dwayne Bravo 4-0-23-4 (w-1), Samuel Badree 4-0-20-0 (w-3), Sherwin Ganga 3-0-16-2, Dave Mohammad 4-0-18-2, Keiron Pollard 2-0-8-0.

Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 28/3.