T&T knock out Cobras
by Ken Borland 04 October 2011, 15:50
A fantastic cameo by Kevon Cooper led Trinidad & Tobago to a crucial two-wicket victory over the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras in their crunch Nokia Champions League match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.
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The Cobras will be devastated that they once again failed dismally with the ball in the closing overs, letting slip a strong position, and they will now be going home. Trinidad & Tobago will be waiting to see if the Chennai Super Kings can beat New South Wales by a narrow margin and thus ensure the West Indians go through to the semifinals.
The Cobras were defending 137 and looked in control with Trinidad & Tobago on 105 for six after 17 overs. But fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Charl Langeveldt bowled poorly in the penultimate and final overs as Cooper hammered 25 not out off 11 balls to snatch victory with two balls to spare.
The 22-year-old Cooper has an agricultural batting style, but he opened up several cans of whip-ass on the Cobras bowlers at the death, striking a four and two magnificent sixes.
Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson was hit for six off the last ball of the 18th over by Cooper, who did the same thing to Steyn as the premier fast bowler conceded 15 runs in the 19th over. Langeveldt then bowled a crucial no-ball in the final over as the Cobras said goodbye to a tournament that held much promise for them.
Trinidad & Tobago had begun their innings at a crawl, the bat seemingly a very different appliance in the hands of the top-order, compared to the weapon of destruction it was for Cooper.
Steyn produced an exceptional spell with the new ball, his first over being a maiden, trapping William Perkins lbw for six in his second and conceding just three runs in his first three overs.
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Rory Kleinveldt claimed the second wicket - Lendl Simmons for nine - in an extraordinary sixth over that included three no-balls but cost just two runs from free-hits.
Justin Kemp then exploded through the middle-order with three wickets in what would normally be a match-winning burst by the Cobras captain.
A quicker yorker bowled Adrian Barath for 16 and Kemp immediately struck again by bowling opposite number Daren Ganga off the inside-edge first ball.
Kemp then took a fine return catch above his head to remove Darren Bravo (29) in the 15th over.
Two quick wickets by Langeveldt - Sherwin Ganga lbw for 11 - and Peterson - Denesh Ramdin bowled for 24 - had the Cobras sitting pretty.
But the final say would be Cooper's, with a brilliant display of hitting.
Fine half-centuries by Dane Vilas and Owais Shah had earlier carried the Cape Cobras to 137 for four after they won the toss and chose to bat first.
The total was a competitive one on a pudding-like pitch that has little pace, and victory would have assured the Cobras of a place in the semifinals.
Trinidad & Tobago made a wonderful start with the ball, leg-spinner Samuel Badree and paceman Ravi Rampaul combining to reduce the Cobras to 10 for two in the fourth over.
Badree took the new ball and bowled Richard Levi for a duck with his second delivery. The newly-chosen Pro20 international will be disappointed he was dismissed in similar fashion as in the Chennai Super Kings match, staying back instead of coming forward to the spinner and then wafting across the line.
Herschelle Gibbs (2) tried to heave Rampaul to leg, but his cramped stroke sent the ball looping to mid-on instead.
Rampaul and Badree kept the chains so tight that just 35 runs were scored off the first seven overs, but as Vilas and Shah began to settle, they were helped by numerous sins by the Trinidad & Tobago fielders.
The more conventional off-spin of Sherwin Ganga allowed the batsmen to fill their boots as Vilas began the 12th over with successive boundaries. But fellow off-spinner Sunil Narine and medium-pacer Cooper had the innings back on barbiturates.
Vilas's excellent innings came to an end in the 15th over, when an attempted pull off Narine skewed out into the covers, the wicketkeeper/batsman falling for 54 off 44 balls.
The experienced Shah batted through to the end of the innings, however, his 63 not out off 50 balls being another exceptional effort for the Cobras by the English pro.
Badree (4-0-19-1), Narine (4-0-19-1) and quick bowler Rampaul (4-0-25-1), all ended with marvellous figures, but the man of the match plaudits went to Cooper, who bowled JP Duminy for nine to finish with one for 25 in four overs.
Teams:
Cape Cobras: RE Levi, HH Gibbs, DJ Vilas (wk), OA Shah, JP Duminy, JM Kemp (capt), JL Ontong, RK Kleinveldt, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, CK Langeveldt
Trinidad & Tobago: LMP Simmons, WKD Perkins, AB Barath, DM Bravo, D Ganga (capt), D Ramdin (wk), K Cooper, S Ganga, R Rampaul, SP Narine, S Badree