Despite a valiant effort, Guyana Media XI went down to Gas Masters by 29 runs in a feature 20/20 match on Friday afternoon at the Everest Cricket Club ground, Camp Road.
Batting first after winning the toss, Gas Masters, led by a fine innings of 88 not out from Saeed Mohamed, piled up 157-4, before good bowling restricted Guyana Media XI to 128-8 when the overs expired.

Seamer Ishaka Jackman gave Guyana Media XI a fantastic start, uprooting the leg-stump of Chandrika Jeenarine (00) off the fourth ball of the innings, before trapping the other opener Fazleem Mohamed (00) leg before in the third over as Gas Masters slipped to 12-2.

The burly S. Mohamed, who came in at three and the experienced Ramo Malone repaired the damage with a workman-like partnership of 28, before the latter was brilliantly caught by Esan Griffith running back from wide mid-off and taking a diving catch on the rebound.

Malone went for 19 (1×4), handing debutant leg-spinner Shahrukh Imran his first wicket at 40-3 in the ninth over. Skipper Nadir Baksh joined S. Mohamed and the pair batted to the water break, which was taken at the end of the 10th over with the score 51-3.

After the resumption, the pair proceeded to dominate the Guyana Media XI bowling attack, racking up 106 from the last 10 overs during a partnership of exactly 100 runs for the fourth wicket in nine overs.

S. Mohamed, who was dropped by Roberts at mid-off on 13, brought up his fifty off 34 balls with his seventh boundary, while Baksh played the perfect foil, rotating the strike and putting away the bad balls when they were offered.

The partnership ended when Ravi Persaud threw down the stumps at the non-striker end with Baksh short of his crease as they attempted a single at 140-4 in the 19th over. Baksh’s innings included one towering six.

After his dismissal, S Mohamed continued to bat with ease, finishing strongly with a few fours in the death overs to take Gas Masters to 157-4. His innings spanned 52 balls and included 15 sweetly timed boundaries. Bowling for Guyana Media XI, Jackman ended with 2-11 from four overs, while Imran had 1-32.

Faced with an asking rate of 7.9 per over, Guyana Media XI lost openers Rajiv Bisnauth (03) and John Ramsingh (16) inside the six-over Powerplay, which yielded just 28 runs.

Keon Blades, promoted as a pinch-hitter, and Ravi Persaud took the score to 45 in the ninth over before Blades was bowled by Harish Loaknauth for seven (1×4), and Persaud (14, 1×4) followed soon after at 60-4 in the 12th over.

Daniel Singh and Avenash Ramzan then posted the best partnership of the innings, adding a brisk 47 in six overs, but their efforts were a tad late as the required rate jumped to 12 an over. Singh, who was the aggressor, hit three fours in a top score of 32, while Ramzan made 10.

Roberts and Imran struck a pair of boundaries each in the dying stages, scoring 13 and 10 not out respectively, as Guyana Media XI closed on 128-8. Bowling for Gas Masters, S. Mohamed claimed 2-16, while there was one wicket apiece for Terry Narine, Jeenarine, Loaknauth and Talish Ramotar.

At the presentation ceremony that followed, Gas Masters collected the winner’s trophy, while Guyana Media XI copped the runner-up trophy. S. Mohamed was named Man-of-the-Match and Best Batsman for Gas Masters, while Narine was named Best Bowler for the winning team.

For Guyana Media XI, Singh was adjudged Best Batsman, while Jackman copped a trophy for being the Best Bowler. Both teams would like to express gratitude to executives of the Everest Cricket Club for use of the facility for the match.

Meanwhile, Guyana Media XI is expected to be in action again next Sunday against Jasper Renegades at the YMCA ground, Thomas Lands.