Tue, 04 Oct 2011 - IP Cobras vs IP Trinidad and Tobago, Champions T20 League 2011, 17th Match - Bull

Cooper Cameo keeps T&T alive

Trinidad and Tobago once again were involved in a thrilling match in the Champions League with Kevon Cooper playing a match-wining 11-ball 25 run cameo towards the end to take his side across the line in the last over with two wickets in the bag. Warriors after scoring 137 were able to keep the chase under control for most part but conceded runs at crucial moments to give T&T breathing space.

As a result, the South African team have become the first side to be knocked out of the semi-final race while as, T&T await the result of the second match between Chennai and NSW Blues, Net Run Rate will come into play if the former is victorious.

The T&T chase never got going as Dale Steyn and Charl Langeveldt made life difficult for the batsmen early on. Steyn got Perkings with an absolute beauty; Simmons too could not do much as the openers were dismissed cheaply in a slow start. After 6 overs, they had moved to 28 for 2.

Adrian Barath was dropped when he had made only five, he hit a six and a four but could not extend his second life, becoming Justin Kemp’s first victim. Skipper Darren Ganga followed him to the pavilion on the very next delivery as T&T were struggling at 62 for 4 after eleven overs. Kemp got his third wicket by taking a blinder off his own bowling to send back Darren Bravo.

With 53 needed off 30 deliveries, Warriors were sitting pretty but Duminy started the rot by conceding 13 in the sixteenth over. Sherwin Ganga and Ramdin fell in quick succession; however, T&T still had Kevon Cooper in the bank. He smashed the last ball off the seventeenth over into the stands to bring the equation down to 24 off 12 balls.

Dale Steyn bowling the penultimate over had conceded only 3 runs in three overs till then, Rampaul steered the first ball for a boundary and Cooper deposited the last ball which was a full toss over long-off. Nine off the last over was never going to be a problem with Cooper still at the crease, Langeveldt did not help his team either by bowling a no ball, and the target was achieved with two balls to spare.

Earlier, on a slow and low Chepauk track, Warriors’ stroke makers were not at all comfortable against a bowling attack with lot of variety but Dane Vilas and Owais Shah added a crucial 87 for the third wicket taking their side to a respectable total of 137. Both of them scored fifties which can’t be described as eye-catching, however, they were effective enough in conditions where other batsmen failed to connect properly.

Trinidad and Tobago spinner Samuel Badree once again opened the bowling and almost got the wicket on the very first ball only for the umpire to deny what looked like a straight forward leg before decision. The next ball did not require Billy Bowden’s nod as a straighter one disturbed Richard Levi’s furniture. Herschelle Gibbs scratched for 9 balls before being caught at mid-off for 2. The openers had been dismissed for ten runs in 3.1 overs.

This brought together Shah and Levi, and the duo set about the recovery by taking the ones and twos with the odd boundary, Even though, Shah could have been dismissed early courtesy some lazy running but he survived to drive his team forward. The two hit 13 fours and a six between themselves, adding 87 in 11.1 overs. The partnership lifted Warriors out of the early troubles and put them on track for a good score. Vilas departed after making a 44-ball 54 but his partner Shah batted till the end remaining not out on 63.

At one stage, Warriors may have thought of a score in the vicinity of 150 but the T&T bowlers managed to keep things quiet at the death, conceding only 26 in the last four overs. Badree and Narine were once again miserly, each conceding only 19 runs in four overs.