Guyana Times article.
Georgetown, Guyana - After seven rounds in the inaugural West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League four-day tournament, the Guyana Jaguars have chalked up six outright wins, and is certainly in control of the title for the first time in 17 years.
The South Americans are at the top of the table with 107 points, a clear 25 points ahead of Barbados Pride.
During the terrific performance, the Jaguars have definitely clicked as a unit. The batting has been the dominant force with four batsmen with more than 300 runs so far.
Narsingh Deonarine (435), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (332), Rajendra Chandrika (324) and Vishual Singh (302), are among twelve batsmen with more than 300 runs.
Deonarine and Singh are among eleven batsmen to have scored hundreds. But despite missing out on his maiden First-class century, opener, Rajendra Chandrika was among Guyana’s best batsmen on show, displaying a high level of consistency – something that eluded him during his short career at the regional level.
The right-handed batsman has stood tall, scoring three half-centuries with the highest of 83.
However, the 25-year-old, during an interview with this publication on Friday, expressed mixed feelings about his performance so far.
“I think I’ve had an average tournament so far. I am pleased with my efforts, but at the same time, very disappointed not to have scored at least one century,†Chandrika pointed out.
Considered one of the more technically correct young batsmen in the Caribbean, Chandrika, who represented Guyana in 28 First-Class matches, seems to have settled as a regular opener in the side, blamed a lack of concentration and soft dismissals as factors in him not being able to convert his starts into a triple-figure score.
“Yes, concentration has been major reason for me not being able to convert to three figures but having said that, I think I had some soft dismissals too†Chandrika said.
With Guyana set to host the Jamaica Franchise from Friday and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force from March 13, Chandrika is keen on making maximum use of the remaining opportunities in the tournaments, as he seeks to register his maiden First-Class ton.
“Yes I am looking forward to the remaining games but my main focus is to score my maiden First-Class hundred,†Chandrika, who also represented the Sagicor High Performance Centre, said.
The Jaguars will play hosts Windward Islands Volcanoes from March 20, in the final round.
