Barras ease into T20 series

THE Hebou PNG Barramundis notched up a hard-fought win over Cricket PNG Academy 11 on day one of the Hebou International T20 Series on Monday.
The Barramundis (65/2) defeated the young Academy (148/5) side by 10 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match at Amini Park.
Earlier in the day, Hong Kong (123/2) comfortably beat the Academy 11 (122/7) by eight wickets in the opening match of the series.
Batting first, the Academy posted an impressive 148/5 against their seniors with Anthony Vare anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 81 runs off 51 balls.
Vare was supported well down the order captain John Boge Reva hitting a quick-fire 22 runs off just 13 balls.
The Barramundis bowlers with Chad Soper (2-19) and Norman Vanua (2-31) picking up a couple of wickets each.
In reply, the Barramundis raced to 34 in the third over, before Vare bowled Assad Vala for five runs.
Tony Ura continued the onslaught, smashing 38 runs off 15 balls before he was run out.
Lega Siaka (9 not out) and Charles Amini Jr (7 not out) then took PNG to 65/2 in the 9th over before play was halted by rain.
Unfortunately, a ball was not bowled after this interruption and the Barramundis were awarded the match after being in front of the DLM par score of 55 at 8.1 overs.
Vare was awarded the player-of-the-match for his knock as well as taking the prized scalp of national skipper Vala.
Earlier, after only arriving in Port Moresby the day before, Hong Kong won the toss and sent the Academy XI into bat on an overcast day at Amini Park.
This decision seemed to be the correct one with Anthony Vare (3) falling to Tanveer Ahmed early before Steven Eno (18) and Dogodo Bau (29) steadied the innings to take the Academy 11 to 42/1.
Then a middle order collapse saw the Academy 11 slump to 79/6 and in danger of being dismissed for less than 100 before skipper Boge Reva’s unbeaten innings of 28 off just 17 balls took the score to a respectable 122/7.
Mahammad Ghazanfar was the pick of the Hong Kong bowlers taking 3-26 while Ehsan Nawaz (2-11) picked up a couple of wickets.
In reply, Hong Kong chased down the target in only 15 overs, losing just two wickets on the way.
Ashuman Rath was the star with the bat, smashing 56 runs off just 30 balls. Rath was ably supported by his opening partner Mohammad Nizakatok, who hit an unbeaten 45 runs.
Riley Hekure (1-15) and Peterson Willie (1-15) were the only wicket takers for the Academy 11.
The T20 series continues today with the PNG taking on Hong Kong in the morning match at Amini Park.
T20 Series summaries: Mon, Oct 1 – Game 1: CPNG Academy 11 122/7 (Dogodo Bau 29, John Boge Reva 28 not out, Grayson Jones 20; Mohammad Ghazanfar 3-26, Ehsan Nawaz 2-11) Hong Kong 123/2 (Ashuman Rath 56, Mohammad Nizakatok 45 not out; Riley Hekure 1-15, Peterson Willie 1-15). Hong Kong won by 8 wickets; Game 2: CPNG Academy 11 148/5 (Anthony Vare 81 not out, John Boge Reva 22; Chad Soper 2-29, Norman Vanua 2-31) PNG 65/2 after 8.1 overs (Tony Ura 38, Lega Siaka 9 not out, Charles Amini Jr 7 not out; Anthony Vare 1-12). PNG won by 10 runs on DLS.
Fixtures: T20 Series – Wed, Oct 3 – 0930 PNG v Hong Kong; Thurs, Oct 4 – 0930 PNG v Academy; Fri, Oct 5 – 0930 Hong Kong v Academy, 1330 PNG v Hong Kong; Sun, Oct 7 – 1330 Final. 50-Over Series – Tues, Oct 9 – 1000 PNG v Hong Kong; Wed, Oct 10 – 1000 PNG v Hong Kong; Fri, Oct 12 – 1000 PNG v Hong Kong.