A rampant Steelpan Players, led by Sidel Diaz, romped to their fourth win of the Dream XI Trinidad T10 Blast at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando on Monday, with a nine-wicket win over second-placed Soca Kings.
Soca Kings took the first strike and were buoyed by a wonderful start of 31 runs from just two overs for the first-wicket partnership between Tion Webster and Dejourn Charles.
Kings lost their first wicket, Charles, for only one, but it only sparked another 30-plus partnership between Webster and Shatrughan Rambaran as they took Kings to 64 for two in five overs.
Webster then progressed to a whirlwind 71 from 28, with four fours and eight sixes at a strike rate of 253.
Joshua James, batting at number four, was even more brutal on the bowlers as he slammed 34 from 12 balls with three sixes and three fours at a strike rate of 283.
It helped the Soca Kings to score 139 for 4, a formidable total that can be a challenge for any batting lineup.
Any batting lineup, except for a lineup that includes Diaz and Silus Cooper.
The openers were brutal on any bowler and batted mercilessly.
Cooper hit 33 from just 11 balls with two fours and four sixes with a strike rate of 300. The Players took 15 runs from Red Force coach Rayad Emrit’s first over.
Their 36-run partnership was broken with the first ball of the third over as both openers went berserk on the bowling.
It got worse when Mark Deyal joined Diaz. Together they bludgeoned the attack with Diaz getting to 61 not out from 20 balls. The Prison’s opener powered eight sixes and two fours as his bat blade was transformed into a weapon of mass destruction.
Deyal certainly read the memo before he went out to bat and continued the rampage with 41 not out from only 15 balls at a strike rate of 273.
Steelpan Players romped to 142 for one in 7.3 overs for the commanding win to position themselves at the zenith of the standings.
Brief scores:
Soca Kings 136/4 (10 overs) (Tion Webster 71; Joshua James 34; Sidel Diaz 2-32) vs Steelpan Players 142/1 (7.3 overs) (Sidel Diaz 61 not out; Mark Deyal 41 not out; Chadeon Raymond 1-29). Steelpan Players won by 9 wickets.
Scarlet Ibis Scorchers 127/6 (10 overs) (Dexter Sween 47; Mikkel Govia 35; Rivaldo Ramlogan 2-3; Ricky Jaipaul 2-17) vs Bess Motors Blue Devils 130/2 (8 overs) (Kirtsan Kallicharan 46; Kamil Pooran 41; Namir Suepaul 1-8; Eric Garcia 1-31). Blue Devils won by 8 wickets.
Leatherback Strikers 109/6 (10 overs) (Kevin Ramsaray 31; Rondel Ramlogan 28; Kjorn Ottley 3-22; Jesse Bootan 2-10) vs Samp Army Cocrico Cavaliers 110/5 (10 overs) (Saiba Batoosingh 42; Kjorn Ottley 23; Christopher Vincent 2-32). Cavaliers won by 5 wickets.
STANDINGS
Pl*TEAM*P* W* L* N* PTS
1*Chicago Steelpan Players* 6* 4* 1* 1* 9
2*Samp Army Cocrico Cavaliers * 6* 4* 2* 0* 8
3*Soca Kings * 6* 3* 2* 1* 7
4*Bess Motors Blue Devils * 6* 3* 3* 0* 6
5*Leatherback Strikers* 6* 1* 4* 1* 2
6*Scarlet Ibis Scorchers* 6* 1* 4* 1* 2