TAROUBA, Trinidad (CMC) – Medium pacer Rusty Theron snatched two wickets in a magnificent last over to deny Guyana Jaguars a crucial victory and a place in the final four of the Regional Super50 Cup here Monday night.

Requiring 11 runs from the last over in pursuit of 222 for victory, Jaguars lost Ramaal Lewis (10) and Jonathan Foo (41) and managed just two runs, to slide to a shock eight-run defeat to United States under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern at the Brian Lara Stadium.

Theron kept Ramaal Lewis scoreless off the first ball before having him caught at the wicket, desperately flashing at a widish second delivery.

New batsman Renaldo Alimohammed then scrambled a single to long off to get the in-form Foo on strike but the right-hander missed a swing at the fourth delivery and had his stumps shattered.

With 10 needed from the last two balls, Veerasammy Permaul could only get a single off the penultimate delivery, leaving the result as a formality.

Jaguars had entered the contest in third on 16 points and faced a must-win situation especially after second-placed WI Emerging Players (18 points) suffered a 10-wicket trouncing at the hands of Group B winners Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.

Initially set 231 for victory in a game reduced to 41 overs, the target was revised to 222 from 36 overs following a rain delay with Jaguars well placed on 71 for two in the 16th over.

Chris Barnwell continued his impressive form with a top score of 54 – his third half-century of the campaign – while Anthony Bramble chipped in with 38 and all-rounder Raymon Reifer, 33.

Left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar claimed three for 42 while Theron picked up two for 44.

Opting to bat, United States had rallied to 230 for five off their 41 overs with Monank Patel top-scoring with 85 and Ian Holland smashing a 37-ball 59 not out.

Leg-spinner Ramaal Lewis proved expensive in his four overs but ended with three for 24.

The result left Jaguars, last year’s losing finalists, with their fourth defeat from their eight preliminary games, and outside of the top two in the group.

For the U.S., meanwhile, the victory was their second but was not enough to get them off the bottom of the standings.

Xavier Marshall fell cheaply for seven in the third over with 12 runs on the board but Monank and then Holland inspired a series of partnerships to revive the innings.

Monank, who faced 105 balls and struck three fours and sixes, put on 39 for the second wicket with Steven Taylor (17) before adding a further 78 for the third wicket with Aaron Jones who made 37.

The pace of the innings then quickened when Monank posted a swift 59 off 36 deliveries with Holland, who blasted two fours and three sixes.

In reply, Jaguars lost Chandrapaul Hemraj for 10 in the second over, feathering a catch behind off Netravalkar but Bramble and captain Leon Johnson (18) added 54 for the second wicket to stabilise the innings.

Both fell within the space of 16 balls, however, to leave Jaguars on 73 for three in the 16th over and paving the way for an 80-run fourth-wicket stand between Barnwell and Reifer.

Barnwell needed just 47 balls and belted a four and four sixes while Reifer counted three fours in a 45-ball knock.

Again, Jaguars lost both set batsmen in quick succession in the space of 12 balls. Even though Foo, who lashed two fours and three sixes off just 22 balls, inspired a 47-run, sixth-wicket stand off 40 balls with Lewis, the last three overs of the innings yielded just 13 runs.