T&T Red Force cruised to a 7-wicket victory over Windward Islands Volcanoes in the CG United Super50 Cup at Queen’s Park Oval, St. Clair on Saturday.
The game was a much-needed win for the Red Force after they lost their second game to the Guyana Harpy Eagles by three runs. Joshua Da Silva and Yannic Cariah representing the regional team led from the front to win. West Indies leg-spinner Yannic Cariah took 3/34 in ten overs as Volcanoes were bowled out for 189 in 47 overs.
The Volcanoes batted with some experienced players like Johnson Charles, Ambris, and Andre Fletcher, but all three combined for just 30 runs. Charles was out for 16 runs, Ambris for 13 runs, and Fletcher could collect only one point.
Hodge and Tevyn Walcott showed resilience with 39 and 36 respectively, but it wasn’t enough to go for a big score. Facing 71 balls, Hodge hit 4 fours in his innings.
Volcanoes lost wickets regularly as the team’s top partnership was Kavem Hodge and Sunil Ambris forging a 35-run third-wicket partnership. West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel took 2/36 in 6 overs and Terence Hinds 2/39 in 7 overs.
De Silva and Kjorn Otley of Red Force who played the reply innings gave the team a good start by building a 69-run partnership for the first wicket.
Ottley was bowled out for 36 off 48 balls, while Jason Mohammed and de Silva added 29 for the second wicket. Mohammad was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 20 runs in 35 balls.
A 43-run partnership between Darren Bravo and Da Silva kept the Red Army in control. De Silva scored an unbeaten 66 off 88 balls with six fours and one six.
Red Army captain Nicholas Pooran and Bravo built an unbroken partnership of 54 runs to lead the Red Army to victory. Pooran scored an unbeaten 36 off 31 balls and Bravo scored an unbeaten 27 off 56 balls as the Reds were 195/3 in 43 overs.
The Red Army has won two of their first three matches so far. The Red Force cruised past Combined Campus and Colleges (CCC) by seven wickets in their opening match, before losing to Harpy Eagles. The Red Force will play CCC in their next match at Queen’s Park Oval on Monday from 9 am.