They arrived in India with few recognisable faces, a small entourage of passionate supporters and the tag of rank underdogs. But the party that the Trinidad and Tobago outfit set in motion in Bangalore has carried on into Hyderabad, and has just got rowdier over the last one week. Along the way, not only have T&T won everybody’s hearts with their flamboyant cricket, they are now the only unbeaten team in the competition.

Skipper Daren Ganga has repeatedly said that his team had landed here with a clear vision of winning six games and returning home with the trophy. And having won the first four comprehensively, T&T are now favourites going into Thursday’s semi-final against the Cobras.

While the Cobras’s fortunes have depended largely on the performances of Andrew Puttick and JP Duminy, T&T have ended up finding stars in each game. Though Adrian Barath walked away with all the plaudits after their convincing win over Diamond Eagles on Sunday, it was Navin Stewart with his 11-ball 33 who was chiefly responsible for T&T becoming the first outfit to cross the 200-run mark in this competition. And the 26-year-old fast bowling all-rounder hopes that his destructive batting on his first outing was good enough to seal his place in the side.

“It is quite frustrating turning up and wondering whether you are going to get a go or not. My role in the team is that of a fast bowler, but I have proved my ability with the bat in the few opportunities I have got,” says Stewart, the only player in the team, incidentally, who hails from the island of Tobago.

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