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Chef Gawas dishes up record 177

Record holder: Forties' Yatin Gawas set a new Commercial Cricket League record by hitting 177 against Jamaican Association at Garrison Field.

By Ivan CliffordDiminutive Indian batsman Yatin Gawas shattered the Commercial Cricket League record, plundering 13 sixes in his 177 at Garrison Field, but Forties lost further ground on leaders Spring Garden Cavaliers in the title race after Jamaican Association dug in to force a draw.Gawas’ 117-ball innings, which eclipsed the previous record of 166 not out set two seasons ago by another player from South Asia, Sri Lankan Jeff DeSilva, also contained 14 fours and laid the foundation for Forties’ declaration at 272-3 from 38.4 overs.But in a nine-a-side game the Jamaicans held out to close on 118-6 from 44.5 overs — a reversal of the result two weeks earlier when Forties shut up shop at the same ground to claim a minor share of the points.Defending champions Cavaliers also fielded nine players on Sunday but had too much firepower for North Village’s 11 men as Ricky Hill’s unbeaten 80 guided them to an emphatic victory at Shelly Bay in a game reduced to 37 overs a side, in the process opening up a seven-point lead on their nearest rivals with a match in hand.Gawas, a 31-year-old baker/pastry chef from Goa, said: “It feels great and I’m happy to have the record against my name.“I’ll remember this innings for a long long time, especially the sixes that I hit.”Promoted from his usual number three spot to open in the absence of Simon Jones, this was Gawas’ second century for Forties since coming to Bermuda almost nine years ago.“I was seeing the ball nicely on Sunday, so any loose ball that came along I just hit it,” the 5ft 5½in batsman said last night.“Anything that was overpitched I hit to long-on and long-off.”Added skipper Gordon Campbell: “Yatin hit some awfully huge sixes for a man of his size. He was almost chanceless until 100, then relied a bit on their largesse the rest of the way with a few dropped catches.“We delayed the declaration an over or two in order to give him a shot at the record; we’re glad that we did.”Gawas added 50 for the first wicket with Campbell, 44 for the second with Ernest McCallan (26) and 178 for the third with Edward DeSilva, who hit three sixes of his own in an unbeaten 42, the declaration coming when Gawas was caught at point. Junior Lindo took 2-38 from seven overs.The declaration left the Jamaicans with a revised 45 overs but they quickly set their sights on a draw.Presley Millwood struck four fours and two sixes in his 51 and Keniek Wallen made 38, David DeSilva claiming 2-13 from 12.5 overs and Saniru Dushantha 2-17 from eight.“They put up the shutters almost from the start although we did manage to tempt them into a few shots, leading to a few of the wickets,” Campbell said.“Presley Millwood batted very well for his 51, aided by some judicious pad play.“The sixth wicket fell with one ball left and we called it off then.”Janaka Pereira’s 4-61 from 12 overs and Rohan Henry’s 3-35, also from 12, restricted Village to 140-8, in which only Reggie Benjamin (30) made a significant contribution.Opener Hill’s unbeaten 80 and 20 not out from skipper Dave Greenidge helped Cavaliers reach their target in just 26 overs.“Cavaliers batted very well,” conceded Village skipper Allen Walker.