Nokia Champions League T20: Cape Cobras v Trinidad & Tobago – Match Recap
Cape Cobras 137 v Trinidad & Tobago 138 - Trinidad & Tobago won by 2 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Trinidad & Tobago ousted their opponents Cape Cobras from the ongoing Champions League T20 after beating them by two wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on Tuesday, October 04, 2011.
With this win, T&T still have a chance to qualify for the next round if Chennai Super Kings beat New South Wales (NSW) in the second match of the day by a small margin.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Cape Cobras chose to bat first to put enough runs on the board against the opposition to give their bowlers a realistic chance of grabbing a crucial victory.
However, disaster struck as on the second delivery of the first over, opener Richard Levi had his off stump uprooted by 30-year-old T&T strike bowler Samuel Badree on nil. With one wicket down without a run on the board, this was certainly not the kind of
a start Cobras were hoping for.
In the fourth over, opener Herschelle Gibbs was also sent back to the pavilion after scoring only two runs off nine deliveries when he was caught by Darren Bravo at mid-off on the bowling of right-arm pacer Ravi Rampaul. At the time of this wicket, Cape
Cobras had managed to post only 10 runs on the board.
However, it was then Dane Vilas and Owais Shah who brought stability in the middle as the batsmen crafted a brilliant resistance against the T&T bowlers by preventing them from grabbing a wicket.
The duo exhibited phenomenal batting as they made impressive shot selection by smacking the opposition all over the park, giving cricket fans plenty to cheer about.
It was then in the 15th over when T&T struck again by grabbing the wicket of Vilas who after playing an impressive knock of 54 runs off 44 deliveries was caught by T&T captain Daren Ganga off the bowling of spinner Sunil Narine. At the time of
this wicket, Cobras had posted 97 runs on the board for the loss of three wickets.
Meanwhile, Shah continued the batting onslaught as he remained unbeaten on 63 runs off 50 deliveries when his side finally finished their 20-over innings by posting 137 runs on the board.
With a moderate target in front of them, T&T had every chance of winning the game by keeping wickets in hand.
T&T’s did not have an impressive start as they lost the services of opener William Perkins, who after scoring six runs was trapped in front of stumps by pacer Dale Steyn in the third over. At the time of this wicket, T&T had posted only eight runs on the
board.
However, later in the innings the middle-order showed exceptional talent by forging a formidable resistance against the bowlers.
In the end, T&T reached the required target in 19.4 overs. Darren Bravo was the highest scorer from his side with 29 runs off 36 deliveries.
22-year-old Kevon Cooper from T&T was named as the Player of the Match for smacking 25 runs off 11 deliveries.