Mahdia (Movements Family) dethroned defending zone champions Eccles All-Stars with a tense eight-run victory in the East Bank/West Demerara Zone final of the Lotto/Let’sBet One Guyana T10 Tapeball Blast on Sunday at the Meten-Meer-Zorg Community Centre Ground.
The victory earned Mahdia G$500,000 and a place in the National Finals, scheduled for October 11 at the Anna Regina National Stadium. They will face Berbice Zone champions Grillmaster Sip N Play All-Stars.
Batting first in the high-scoring final, Mahdia posted a challenging 128 for five from their 10 overs. Andy Lall led the way with an aggressive 31, while Devendra Latchman contributed 21.
Ershaad Ali made 19 and Andrew Gibson added 18 before Orrin Gibson struck an unbeaten 18 late in the innings. Nandkumar Ramanan was Eccles’ best bowler with three for 29.
Eccles mounted a strong reply through Akeim Vieira, who smashed 55 to keep the defending champions in contention. Andrew Lim supported with 25, while Quazim Yusuf scored 20 as the match headed towards a close finish.
However, Gavin Moriah and Sanjay Algoo struck at important moments to slow Eccles’ progress. Moriah finished with three for 26 and Algoo claimed two for 27 as Eccles were restricted to 120 for eight at the end of their 10 overs.
Both teams had advanced to the final with convincing semi-final victories earlier in the day.
Mahdia restricted Airport SVC to 67 for nine, with Latchman delivering an economical spell of two for four. Algoo and Moriah also collected two wickets each.
Lall then blasted 39 as Mahdia raced to 70 for two in only four overs to complete a comfortable eight-wicket victory.
In the other semi-final, Eccles defeated Village Rams by seven wickets. Chasing 101, Eccles reached their target in just 5.4 overs, led by an unbeaten 52 from Vieira.
Eccles received $200,000 for finishing second, with the prize sponsored by M.S. Roshandin Group of Companies. Losing semi-finalists Village Rams and Airport SVC collected $50,000 each from Camille’s Academy, while the quarter-final losers received $25,000 apiece, courtesy of Scoop Ride Inc.
Attention will now shift to the Essequibo Zone, where 16 teams will compete from August 22–23 for another place in the National Finals.
Matches on Saturday, August 22, will begin at 10:30h, 12:30h and 15:30h at Pomona, Affiance, the Anna Regina National Stadium and Hampton Court. The zonal finals will be played from 14:30h on Sunday, August 23, at the Anna Regina National Stadium.
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