Trinidad race into final

Cricket: Champions League: Unbeaten West Indian side crush Cape Cobras by seven wickets

Cobras’ skipper Andrew Puttick made the right decision of batting after winning the toss, and his batsmen vindicated it putting a competitive 175 on the board. But against the in-form Trinidadians it proved inadequate as the West Indian side scaled down the target easily for a seven-wicket victory with man of the match Dwayne Bravo leading the way with a punishing fifty.

Trinidad, the lone unbeaten side in the tournament, will face New South Wales Blues for the title here on Friday.

The Caribbeans needed a strong start to chase a formidable total and openers William Perkins and Adrian Barath responded to the call adding 53 runs in five overs. Just as they seemed to run away with the game, Perkins squandered his wicket through a needless run-out.

Barath and Simmons, who got two reprieves on 13 and 14, did not capitalise on the luck or beginning as Trinidad slipped from 53 for no loss to 85 for three in quick time.
But Bravo, who was out of touch all along, chose the right occasion to notch up his first fifty of the tournament to snuff out any ambitions that Cobras harboured at that time. He received a perfect companion in his skipper Daren Ganga and the duo added 93 for the unbroken fourth wicket alliance in just 55 balls.

They played with freedom as Cobras bowlers resigned to their destiny and Bravo so justifiably brought the winning runs with a boundary of Rory Kleinveldt.

Earlier, Duminy (61 n.o, 40b, 4x4, 3x6) guided Cobras to a competitive total with a fifty in which he combined aggression and pragmatism to a nicety. Duminy should also thank the splendid start Herschelle Gibbs had given to Cobras.

Gibbs has been awful form throughout the tournament chalking up scores of 0, 1, 0 against his name in the three previous matches. But the hard-hitting South African seemed to hit his strides, playing with the kind of confidence and verve that made him a feared opponent of bowlers over the years.

There were spanking shots over mid-wicket and scorching drives through the covers as runs came at a brisk pace for the South African outfit. It was not one or two huge partnerships that pushed the Cobras’ board ahead.

It was small but useful alliances that they managed to stitch together in succession to move forward after the departure of Gibbs.

Gibbs (42, 27b, 5x4, 1x6) seemed poised to score his first fifty of the tournament but Kieron Pollard cleaned him up with a delivery that angled slightly into the batsmen, whose cross-batted swat failed to connect with the ball.

Back to Duminy’s innings. The left-hander played another gem of an innings with lot of spirit, but Trinidadians were not to be denied on the night.


SCORE BOARD

CAPE COBRAS: Andrew Puttick b S Ganga 10 (13b, 1x4), Herschelle Gibbs b Pollard 42 (27b, 5x4, 1x6), Henry Davids c&b Mohammad 7 (7b, 1x4), Jean-Paul Duminy (not out) 61 (40b, 4x4, 3x6), Rory Kleinveldt c Pollard b Simmons 21 (16b, 2x6), Justin Ontong c Stewart b Simmons 7 (7b), Vernon Philander (n.o) 13 (10b, 1x6). Extras (LB-4, W-10) 14. Total (for 5 wkts, 20 overs) 175.

Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Puttick), 2-57 (Davids), 3-82 (Gibbs), 4-116 (Kleinveldt), 5-130 (Ontong).

Bowling: Sherwin Ganga 4-0-28-1 (w-1), Ravi Rampaul 3-0-19-0, Dwayne Bravo 3-0-46-0, Dave Mohammad 3-0-27-1 (w-2), Kieron Pollard 3-0-24-1 (w-6), Navin Stewart 1-0-10-0, Lendl Simmons 3-0-17-2 (w-1).

Runs during Power Play: 1-6: 54/1.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: William Perkins (run out) 20 (16b, 4x4), Adrian Barath lbw Duminy 29 (16b, 4x4, 2x6), Lendl Simmons c Kleinveldt b Ontong 20 (20b, 1x6), Daren Ganga (not out) 44 (31b, 1x4, 2x6), Dwayne Bravo (not out) 58 (34b, 4x4, 3x6). Extras (W-6, NB-1) 7. Total (for 3 wkts, 19.2 overs) 178.

Fall of wickets: 1-53 (Perkins), 2-58 (Barath), 3-85 (Simmons).

Bowling: Charl Langeveldt 4-0-27-0 (w-1), Monde Zondeki 2-0-30-0 (nb-1, w-2), Rory Kleinveldt 2.2-0-31-0, Claude Henderson 4-0-30-1, JP Duminy 4-0-32-0 (w-3), Justin Ontong 2-0-14-1, Vernon Philander 1-0-14-0.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6: 57/1.