Rainforest Rangers set up a rematch of last year's Chief Secretary's Bago T10 Blast final with reigning champions Fort King George Gunners when they got a nine-run victory against the Buccoo Reef Divers at the Cyd Gray Sporting Complex, Roxborough, Tobago on June 7 in the eliminator match.

Batting first, the Rangers got to a competitive score of 116 for five, with veteran allrounder Navin Stewart top-scoring with a brisk 43 off 22 balls. Stewart cracked four fours in his innings, to go along with three sixes, and he shared in a 63-run opening partnership with Teshawn Castro (18) as the Rangers got off to a flying start.

Buccoo Reef bowler Kwani Thomas (two for 25) clawed his team back into the contest in the seventh over when he got the key double strike of Castro and Stewart to leave the Rangers on 64 for two. Rangers lost two more wickets in the eighth over as the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force pair of Jason Mohammed (one) and Cephas Cooper (eight) fell to Dillon Douglas (two for 21) in quick succession as their team slipped to 73 for four.

The Rangers had a grandstand finish to their innings, though, as middle-order batsmen Christopher Vincent (20 not out) and Rayan Williams (14) shared in a 43-run partnership off just 15 balls – hitting two sixes apiece in the process.

With Red Force allrounder Terrence Hinds and former Twenty/20 World Cup winner Lendl Simmons in their ranks, Buccoo Reef would have backed themselves to get the 117-run target.

The Rangers had different ideas, and Williams returned with the ball to grab figures of three for 31 to help his team restrict the powerful Buccoo Reef batting lineup to 107 for seven.

Opening batsman Dejourn Charles (59 off 30 balls) played an outstanding innings as he led the Buccoo Reef chase, but he didn't get the support required to guide his team into the final. After the fall of Jesse Bootan (golden duck) in the first over, Charles dominated a 61-run partnership with Simmons before falling in the seventh over to leave Buccoo Reef on 79 for two.

Buccoo Reef slipped to 79 for four as Simmons (11) and Jayden Kent (duck) were dismissed, while they lost three more wickets in the final over when they tried in vain to chase 20-plus runs in Williams' second over.

Both Gunners and Rangers finished the preliminary round with four wins each. And after press time on June 8, they met at the Roxborough venue to vie for the $40,000 Bago T10 Blast top prize. The second-place team will pocket $20,000.

Summarised Scores:

Rainforest Rangers – 116/5 (Navin Stewart 43, Christopher Vincent 20 not out; Dillon Douglas 2/21) vs Buccoo Reef Divers – 107/7 (Dejourn Charles 59, Rayan Williams 3/31). Rangers won by 9 runs.

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