Mohamed spurs Everest Masters to victory

Jul 25, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....-masters-to-victory/

By Sean Devers

In sultry conditions, with pulsating music being played beyond the boundary, host Everest Masters led by fine all-round work from Man-of-the-Match Saheed Mohamed, beat the touring T&T’s Central Masters by four wickets on a heavy outfield and slow track on Sunday to win the Trophy Stall Trophy in feature t20 encounter.
Mohamed, who played for the Cayman Islands in the Standford t20 tournament, took 3-26 to help restrict the visitors to 157-6 in 20 overs before returning with the bat to clobber a pugnacious 56 as the Camp Road team replied with 163-6 in 17 overs.
Played in a fete match atmosphere with huge pots on the fire, 40-year-old Shazam Babwah, who scored a century and a fifty in 12 First-Class matches for T&T between 2002-2005, played an array of attractive shots in an entertaining 63 as he rolled back the years.
But in a team from Carnival Country that included three other players with First-Class experience including Skipper Rajendra Mangalie, only Amardoe Lutchman with 27 offered resistance as extras contributed a healthy 20.
Former T&T youth and senior team player Mukesh Persad, whose 10 included a boundary, hit Mohamed to mid wicket to give Mohamed the first of his three wickets with his off-spin.
Pacer Basil Persaud made a couple of inroads into the Trinis batting to support Mohamed with 2-24.
When Everest Masters began their reply Mohamed clobbered five sixes and four fours in a 33-ball innings, but former National Senior big hitting Rohan Sarjoo, West Indies youth player Rakesh Gangaram, Essequibo players Ramesh Narine and Sahadeo Hardaiow along with Skipper Rajesh Singh all failed to get going as for T&T left-arm wrist spinner Avidesh Samaroo and off-spinner Persad bowled in tandem.
When Mohamed was dismissed, 28-year-old Troy Gonsalves was sent out to join Sarjoo instead of former Guyana and West Indies ‘B’ team’s Rabindranauth Seeram and proceeded to turn the match on its head by belting the ball for six sixes and a four. One of his sixes ended the match and took him to 51 not out, while Persaud chipped in with 23.
This game was made possible by support from Trophy Stall in Bourda Market, CIDI and Professional Printing Services.
Sunday’s loss was the first suffered by the visitors who had beaten Albion in Berbice on Thursday and West Demerara Masters on Saturday by three wickets at the Tuschen ground.
Richard Sookdeo (43) and Gangaram (27) took West Dem Masters to 143-9 in 20 overs before the Trinidad team replied with 147-7 in 17 overs with Narine Badasie leading the way with 42, while Babwah made 38. Sarjoo took 2-24 for the West Demerara Masters.