TORONTO, Canada – Leg-spinner Jonhatan Singh grabbed five for 21 as Scarborough Blues defeated Actionzone by 23 runs in their feature Juniors 40-over clash, played at the L’Amoreaux ground, Scarborough here last Thursday.
The 17-year-old Singh, son of former Guyana Chronicle Finance Controller, Mohan Singh, exhibited immaculate control as he spun webs around his Actionzone counterparts, bowling eight overs on the trot to tilt the game in Scarborough Blues’ favour.
Set 145 for victory after limiting Scarborough Blues to 144 for eight in their allotted 40 overs, Actionzone were given a fine start of 46 in nine overs between Canadian Under-19 player Mihir Patel (29) and Dheer Desai (22) but once medium-pacer Kyle Karran broke the partnership it paved the way for Singh to perform his heroics.
Skipper Patel, who had the distinction of scoring an impressive 90 in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year, hit three fours before succumbing to Karran.
Arjun Dhuraisingam, son of former Canadian fast bowler Sanjay Dhuraisingam, shored up the middle-order with a stubborn undefeated 25 but failed to get the desired support after batting at number eight.
Karran supported Singh with three for 23 in seven overs while left-arm spinner Raquib Shamshundeen, who also represented Canada in the Under-19 World Cup, bowled economically to claim one for 18 from 7.3 overs.
Earlier, SCA Blues found the going tough after winning the toss and opting to take first strike on the heavy outfield. It took a flamboyant unbeaten 59 from Shamshundeen and 26 from Ethan Gibson to propel them to what eventually turned out to be a winning total. Shamshundeen struck three fours while Gibson hit a solitary boundary. Shamsundeen dominated an unbeaten 25-run ninth-wicket partnership with Singh whose contribution was a mere four.
Anindya Dass finished with two for 12, Rohan Garg two for 15 and Patel two for 22.
SCA Junior Coordinator Vish Jafunauth managed the SCA Blues while Dhuraisingam was in charge of Action Zone. (Frederick Halley)
