Cricket

Benn stars with ball and bat as Windies win thriller

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad — Sulieman Benn made a spectacular return to West Indies colours with a superb allround performance, as West Indies A beat India A by three wickets with two balls in the first Digicel T20 on Saturday night.

The tall left-hander took three wickets in one over to end with 3-24 off four overs. This allowed West Indies to bowl out the visitors for 131 after the match was reduced to 18 overs at Queen’s Park Oval. Benn then returned with the bat and thumped two sixes as he got the 15 runs required in the final over for victory.

Speaking after the match, Benn said he was always confident of doing well. He was especially pleased with his bowling against the high-profile Indian batting. He also praised his team-mates for their ability to handle the pressure in what was a “tight match from start to finish”.

“Bearing in mind that the Indians are very experienced cricketers and are good players of spin, you always have to concentrate, but nothing beats execution and believing in your ability,” Benn said of his bowling effort.

“When I went in I was batting with a recognized batsman (Jonathan Carter) so I never thought about losing. When he got out I just said I have a job to do so I’ll go about it as smartly as possible. I wouldn’t say a ‘dream comeback’, but it’s good to hit the ground running. I give thanks for this opportunity to get back into West Indies cricket and contribute to the success of this team.”

In the first half of the match, Benn combined with pacer Jason Holder to pull back India A after Rohit Sharma hit a polished half century. Holder took 3-19 off three overs and also had a run out off the last ball of the innings as India lost their last seven wickets for 25 runs in the last four overs.

Benn had all three wickets in his third over. Sharma was well caught at backward point by Krishmar Santokie; Wriddiman Saha was bowled as he missed a pull; and two balls later Jalaj Saxena was cleaned up with a fast yorker.

In the West Indies innings the topscore came from wicket-keeper Carter who made 35 off 21 balls with three leg-side sixes, as he added a crucial 33 off three overs with Holder. Opener Nkrumah Bonner gave the innings a breezy start with 25 off 22 balls.

“I think we fielded very well … guys were throwing themselves around in the outfield…there was a buzz…we came out full of life. The captain did an excellent job in his first match leading a West Indies team. He rotated his bowlers very well while under pressure,” said the 30-year-old Benn, who has played at the first-class level for 12 years.

“I felt Carter batted extremely well and also performed well under pressure. He gave the innings the perfect injection when it was required. Overall we played well. Everyone backed up each other.”

The second Digicel T20 will be played at Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday at 7 pm (6 pm Jamaica Time).

Comments are closed.