By Rajiv Bisnauth

DEMERARA captain Sachin Singh led his team to a three-wicket win over defending champions Berbice in round two of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)-sponsored Dave West Indian Exports Guy-NY Inter-county Under-15 tournament yesterday. Demerara reached their target of 263 with six overs left after Man-of-the-Match Singh hit a brutal 120 from 108 balls that included 12 fours and six sixes.
Earlier Fawaz Gafoor and Jevan Schultz struck fluent half-centuries to lift Berbice to 262-8 after the visitors won the toss and chose to bat first in good batting conditions at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground.
Berbice lost Jerron France (3) early but Gafoor and Marvan Prasad laid the platform for a late flourish from Schultz with a 108-run stand for the second wicket.
However, left-arm spinner Daniel Mootoo gave Demerara a timely wicket, that of Prasad who went for a 62-ball 40 (2×4, 1×6).
Soon after, the Demerara players broke into wild celebrations again when Gafoor was run-out for 73, an innings that took 96 balls with 14 fours.
From a position of 142-3, Berbice slipped to 220-7, losing the wickets of Seon Glasgow (26), Hemchand Sukhai (5), Leon Swamy (1) and Carl Gilgeous (5), with Gafoor claiming two of those four wickets, to finish with figures of 3-29, while Michael Puran and Shaquelle Weeks picked up the other two wickets during that mini middle-order collapse.
At that stage Berbice seemed to lose their plot as they approached the end of their innings, but the right-hander Schultz had other ideas and didn’t allow the Demerara bowlers to check the run-rate.
The Berbice skipper reached his fifty off only 38 balls.
He dispatched the loose deliveries and was busy taking the ones and twos to keep the scoreboard moving. His assault included a four and three consecutive sixes off Singh in the penultimate over.
Pacer Daniel Paul then deceived Schultz in the final over as the batsman went for a heave, completely missed the ball in the process and had his off-stump pegged back. Schultz made 66 in just 45 balls, reaching the boundary four times and beyond on five occasions.
Aaron Beharry and Nigel Deodat were the not-out batsmen on two and one respectively.
In the run chase Demerara openers Singh and Shoaib Shaw added 65 in 12 overs before Shaw was dismissed for 17.
The left-handed Singh then dominated a second-wicket stand of 58 in which Yudister Persaud only contributed seven.
Batting like a man possessed, Singh registered his hundred off just 85 balls. Andrew Samaroo (33) and Dwain Dick (32) were then dismissed in quick succession.
Singh single-handedly took Demerara within victory, and when he was dismissed Demerara were 21 runs short of victory.
Garrick Persaud and Daniel Paul were the other batsmen to be dismissed, but Hemnauth Dindyal and Weeks saw their team home safely.
Antonio Kempadoo and Marvan Prasad took two wickets apiece bowling for Berbice.
Meanwhile, in the other game played at Wales, Essequibo defeated GCB President’s X1 by 65 runs. Scores: Essequibo 182-6, GCB President’s X1 in reply were bowled out for 117.
The third round is set for Thursday.