Barataria Ball Players strode into the semifinals of the North Zone T20 Tournament with a six-wicket win over Paragon Sports Club on Sunday at Diego Martin.
Paragon piled up 197 for 3 in their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting, with Christopher Vincent smashing a tournament-high 123 off 50 balls with five fours and 13 sixes.
Vincent and Clifton Halls (37) batted through 12.5 overs to produce 142 runs for the opening partnership to lay the groundwork.
Only Kevis John (1/41) and Vaughn Browne (1/47) earned wickets for Paragon as five of their bowlers went for over 10 runs an over.
Only Dejourn Charles was frugal and conceded 15 runs in his three overs.
Barataria’s response was muted by the loss of Kevis John (5) and Charles (21) in the early stage of the reply.
However, Anthony Alexander and Marlon Phillip (46 off 34) responded with a blistering partnership of 114 for the third wicket.
Phillip went with the score on 151 for 3 off the penultimate ball of the 15th over, Barataria still needed 37 runs off the final 19 balls.
Alexander found another capable ally in Vaughn Brown to clobber 29 runs off the next 11 balls to take Barataria to the brink of victory.
He fell for 80 off 42 balls with seven runs to get off eight balls.
New batsman Carl Vialva got the strike and smashed a six off the third ball of the final over to clinch the win and first place in Group B.
Barataria won all four matches in the preliminary round to take their place in the semifinals, while second-placed Paragon could be overtaken if Glenora Sports Club produces a dominant win over Combine All Stars on Monday.
Summarized scores: Paragon Sports 197 for 3 in 18 overs (Christopher Vincent 123, Clifton Halls 37; Kevis John 1/41) vs. Barataria Ball Players 198 for 4 in 17.3 overs (Anthony Alexander 80, Marlon Phillip 46; Kennard Maison 2/22). Barataria won by six wickets
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz Sports Club clinched a semifinal berth with a nine-wicket win over Pole 9, eliminating them from the competition.
Pole 9 struggled to 118 for 9 with skipper Riaz Mohammed scoring 34 from 26 balls.
After losing national player Vikash Mohan (0) off the fourth ball of the opening over, Mohammed and Antonio Gonzales (20) rebuilt with 47 off 6.5 overs.
However, the innings started to sputter after Mohammed and Wendell Samuel could only add a further 28 runs in 27 balls,
Cue a massive collapse as Pole 9 lost four wickets for five runs.
Isaiah Hayes (4/17) and Tion Webster (2/25), who choked up the runs for Santa Cruz, made life difficult for the Pole 9 lower order.
Pole 9 crawled to 118 for 9 in their 20 overs to give Santa Cruz the opening they needed to clinch a place in the last four.
Dexter Sween made light work of their total as he struck an impressive 67 off 26 balls to lead Santa Cruz across the line in only 7.5 overs.
Sween was already on the charge when he lost fellow opener George Malchan (1) in the second over.
He and Darren Bravo would finish the job 34 balls later, with the former West Indies batsman lofting six sixes in his 46 not out off 19 balls.
Sween was Player of the Match and Santa Cruz had their third win in succession to clinch a semifinal berth.
However, Savannah Boys can take the top spot in Group A if they beat North Side Future Stars on Tuesday.
Summarized scores: Pole 9 118 for 9 in 20 overs (Riaz Mohammed 34, Wendell Samuel 24; Isaiah Hayes 4/17, Tion Webster 2/25) vs. Santa Cruz Sports 119 for 1 in 7.5 overs (Dexter Sween 67*, Darren Bravo 46*; Vikash Mohan 1/24). Santa Cruz won by nine wickets.
