PowerGen were crowned champions of the inaugural WIPA Twenty20 Club Champions League after outclassing arch -rivals W Connection Wanderers by 41 runs at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, on Sunday night.
Outstanding performances by Man-of-the-Match, Lennox Cush and left-arm spinner Rishi Bachan were responsible for routing W Connection Wanderers for 92 as they defended their competitive total of 133.
PowerGen copped the $1 million winner’s prize while W Connection Wanderers collected $300,000 as runners-up.
Cush top scored with 29 and returned with the ball to take two wickets for eight runs with his off-spin, while Bachan ended with match figures of four for 17 from his four overs.
W Connection Wanderers started their run chase in an emphatic manner with West Indies Under-19 batsman Kieran Powell smashing Esuan Crandon for two boundaries in the first over.
However, that was the high point of the Wanderers innings as Crandon had Powell caught at backward point by Denzil James for eight with the score on 11.
PowerGen skipper Samuel Badree who was proving difficult to score off accounted for William Perkins as Wanderers slipped to 15 for two. Things would only get worse for Wanderers as Cush trapped Nicholas Ramjass leg before and had Christopher Barnwell caught on the boundary by Dave Mohammed to be reeling on 30 for five after the ninth over.
Rishi Bachan’s introduction into the bowling attack effectively ended any chance of Wanderers staging a lower order fightback to win the match.
He and Dave Mohammed used their variations expertly to limit the Wanderers batsmen scoring.
Bachan would claim the wickets of Navin Stewart, Avalon Cuffy, Kenroy Williams and Rajendra Mangalie to decimate the Wanderers middle and lower order.
When Bachan’s spell was completed Wanderers were clearly staring defeat at 64 for nine.
But Clifton Halls and Atiba Alert shared in at tenth wicket partnership of 28 runs to bring some respectability to the Wanderers scorecard.
Earlier, PowerGen openers Gibran Mohammed and Lennox Cush gave their team a good start with a partnership of 44 runs from six overs.
Both batsmen were quick to pounce on the short balls by the Wanderers opening duo of Stewart and Barnwell.
Cuffy made the breakthrough trapping Mohammed leg before, when he looked set for a big score.
Jason Mohammed joined Cush and both batsmen continued to play positively at the crease, and aided by some poor fielding they pressed their early advantage.
Alert would remove Mohammed (J) for 16 and accounted for Samuel Badree as Wanderers fought their way back into the match after a nervy start. Sherwin Ganga looked solid at the crease, looking to give Cush the majority of the strike as he picked up easy singles. However, Ganga became the fifth wicket to fall with the score on 113, run out for six by wicketkeeper William Perkins.
The fall of Ganga’s wicket triggered a collapse in the PowerGen innings and they lost their final five wickets for 23 runs.
Pick of the Wanderers bowlers were Nicholas Ramjass who took three for 23 and Rajendra Mangalie who had figures of two for 20.
