Asked to bat first, the Texan players blasted 293 for eight in a match reduced to 35 overs after heavy rain curtailed the run-fest.
Jhamb, who batted brilliantly for his century, was very effective with his ground and aerial strokes. He, like the other batsmen from the visiting team, looked very organised and technically correct with their defensive and attacking strokes.
The other batsmen who featured prominently in the huge total were Srihan Challa with a run-a-ball 35, Priyadarsan Aravinthkumar with 27 off 55 balls (3x4) and Parth Patel with 26 off 22 balls (1x4). Of note was Pooja Ganesh, a female who contributed a manly 37 off 35 balls (3x4). She displayed outstanding skills and ramped equally well with the boys her age. The wicket takers for the home team were Krish Sidhwa 7-0-47-1, Keadani David 4-0-27-1, Roy Singh 2-0-14-1, Israel Morton 8-0-62-1 and Chiraj Aswani 3-0-28-1.
In reply, the home boys looked out-of-depth against a discipline bowling lineup. Morton top scored with 23 off 29 balls (2x4). The only other batsman in double figures was Davenand Singh with 10 off 16 balls.
The wicket takers for the Panthers were Patel 4-3-5-2, Parth Garg 2-0-9-2, Namish Gurram 0.4-0-3-1, Sainavi Reddy Kambalapalli 1-0-2-1, Jhamb 5-0-14-1 and Baladitya Kathula 3-0-19-1.
The series between the two teams continues today. St. Maarten is expected to showcase a stronger team with four players returning from the Leeward Islands U15 training camp yesterday. Those players are Jethan Edward, Keon Maccow, Jaeden Bramble and Chandler Kyle Thompson. Hard-hitting batsman Tyanick Honore and fast bowler Shaiquon Stewart are also anticipated to play today.
The first ball of the 50 overs encounter will be bowled at 10:00 pm.
