Marshall... top scored for Jamaica with 88.
- File
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC:
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO fought back from a difficult position to post a tense two-wicket win over Jamaica in their West Indies limited-overs championship match yesterday.
Chasing 207 from 50 overs to win, T&T looked dead and almost buried on 157 for eight, but a ninth wicket partnership of 52, unbroken, between Richard Kelly and Reyad Emrit eventually took them over the hump with five balls to spare.
Emrit was not out on 26 and Kelly, who was unbeaten on 39, had the privilege of hitting the winning runs, a pull for four to the mid-wicket boundary off Chris Gayle.
Marlon Samuels was the most successful Jamaica bowler with four wickets for 21 runs from 10 overs. Jamaica captain Gareth Breese took two for 45 from 10.
Sent in to bat, Jamaica crumbled from the formidable position of 100 without loss to 206 all out from 46.2 overs with opener Xavier Marshall, the top batsman in this year's West Indies youth championship, missing out on a maiden regional hundred by 12 runs.
Sherwin Ganga was the most effective T&T bowlers with 3-39 from his allotment of 10 overs. Imran Jan and Rodney Sooklal with two wickets apiece offered him essential support.
T&T lost Jan early, when he slashed at Daren Powell and was caught at third man, but the Ganga brothers, Daren and Sherwin, added 52 for the second wicket to get the two-island republic on safer ground.
Both fell for 25 however, as T&T slumped from 84 for six in the face of Samuels' steady, but uncomplicated off-spin bowling.
MAHABIR'S KNOCK
A defiant top score of 46 from left-hander Gregory Mahabir brought T&T back from the brink and he added 43 for the seventh wicket with Dinesh Ramdin and another vital 30 with Kelly.
Mahabir's dismissal threw Jamaica another lifeline, but Breese bowled an expensive 47th over in which Emrit cut him for four and Kelly pulled him for six in taking 14 from the over.
After this treatment, the rest was a formality for the batsmen, as they sensibly picked off singles to inch closer and closer to the target.
Earlier, Gayle with three fours in 48 from 65 balls and Marshall gave Jamaica a solid platform with a century opening stand.
Marshall remained unflappable throughout his innings that lasted 136 balls in which he struck eight fours and one six. He managed to remain focused when other batsmen, far more experienced, recklessly threw their wickets away.
Still, Jamaica were comfortably placed at 182 for three before losing their last seven wickets for 24 runs, mainly through poor running between the wickets that led to three run outs.
Jamaica face Barbados today and T&T tackle the Leeward Islands on Sunday in their final match.
SCOREBOARD
Jamaica innings
C. Gayle run out 48
X. Marshall c D. Ganga b S. Ganga 88
W. Hinds c Powell b Jan 17
M. Samuels c Ramdin b S. Ganga 15
D. Hyatt c Powell b S. Ganga 5
C. Baugh c Kelly b Sooklal 3
T. Lambert c Kelly b Sooklal 4
G. Breese run out 2
D. Bernard run out 8
E. McInnis c Kelly b Jan 2
D. Powell not out 0
Extras (lb4, w10) 14
TOTAL (all out - 46.2 overs) 206
Fall: 1-100, 2-140, 3-167, 4-182, 5-188, 6-191, 7-196, 8-201, 9-206.
Bowling: Kelly 5-0-15-0 (w4); Emrit 6-1-31-0 (w2); S. Ganga 10-0-39-3 (w3); Badree 9-0-41-0; Sooklal 9-0-33-2 (w1); Jan 5.2-0-24-2; Powell 2-0-19-0.
Trinidad and Tobago innings
I. Jan c Lambert b Powell 4
S. Ganga c Hyatt b Samuels 25
D. Ganga c Powell b Samuels 25
R. Powell c Breese b Samuels 1
G. Mahabir c Breese b Gayle 46
J. Augustus b Samuels 0
S. Badree c McInnis b Breese 5
D. Ramdin lbw Breese 21
R. Kelly not out 39
R. Emrit not out 26
Extras (lb5, w4, nb8) 17
TOTAL (for eight wkts - 49.1 overs) 209
Fall: 1-10, 2-62, 3-63, 4-64, 5-65, 6-84, 7-127, 8-157
Bowling: Powell 4-0-33-1 (nb4, w3); McInnis 9-0-41-0 (nb3, w1); Hinds 2-0-16-0; Gayle 9.1-2-28-1; Samuels 10-2-21-4; Breese 10-0-45-2; Lambert 5-0-24-0 (nb1).
Result: Trinidad & Tobago won by two wickets.
Points: Trinidad & Tobago 4, Jamaica 0.
