Fireworks illuminated the tapestry of the night sky above Providence, East Bank Demerara on Tuesday evening, as four teams lined up in the middle, beaming brightly, signalling the auspicious commencement of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) T20 tournament.
Just prior to the grand opening ceremony, which was graced with speeches from Guyana’s President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chairman of the GSL T20, Guyana Amazon Warriors Captain Imran Tahir had won the toss and opted to bowl in the opening clash against Pakistan’s Lahore Qalandars.
Fittingly, the home team pulled off a historic first victory in the tournament, but it did not come without hard work.
Amazon Warriors’ bowling, though suffering from the misfortunes of a misfield here and there, was commendable. The Bangladeshi debutant for the Amazon Warriors was the first to strike, dismissing Amir Baig in the second over via the one route.
After a few scattered boundaries in the powerplay, the Warriors then reduced the Qalandars to 35-2, when another of their four debutants, Hassan Khan, on the night took the wicket of Adam Rossington.
Though the Qalandars were easing into their innings, finding the boundary on occasion, so were the hosts, who took wickets at key intervals to stop any game- changing partnerships from forming.
By the time the spinners came into the attack, it did not take Captain Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie more than two overs of their spells to take wickets, depleting the Qalandars’ batting line-up little by little.
The Lahore Qalandars were not necessarily struggling, going at 7 or 6 an over at intervals, but in the grand scheme of things in the fast- paced T20 game, their run rate was not enough to do any significant damage. Surely, the Amazon Warriors’ bowlers were in control.
Then, the death grip was applied in the 19th over, where 4 wickets were taken, all off of the bowling of Dwaine Pretorius. The South African national came close to registering the first hat trick of the ExxonMobil Global Super League T20 with back-to-back scalps in the 3rd and 4th balls of the over. However, a leg-bye punctuated his wicket-taking prowess, with his fourth coming off the last ball of his spell.
Pretorius ended with 4-21 from a full complement of 4 overs, leaving only a solitary wicket to be taken by Sakib in the 20th to rout the Qalandars for 125 in 19.2 overs.
Also producing the goods with the ball were Sakib and Khan, who each took two wickets, while Tahir and Motie each took one.
It soon became evident to the hundreds of fans that flocked the Guyana National Stadium that the conditions in the middle were a bit tough. The Amazon Warriors lost Mark Deyal, who opened batting alongside Moeen Ali, for just 3 runs on the board, while the other half of the opening pair departed for 17, having flashed his blade for just two boundaries.
Then it was up to Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer to get the gritty work done. The duo combined for a 41-run partnership in spite of Hetmyer’s struggles with the bat. Roston Chase walked out to the pitch after Hetmyer was castled for 14, but the Barbadian debutant, though finding the land beyond the ropes twice, did not last much longer, departing in similar fashion to the Berbician.
The wickets were inconsequential to the hosts, however, who kept ticking along, thanks to the steady hand of Shai Hope. Quick singles became the order of the day when the boundaries were too far between, as the Amazon Warriors brought their required runs below the number of balls remaining.
Hope soon had the pressure on his shoulders relived as Keemo Paul produced an entertaining flourish at the end, smashing two sixes and a four in the 18th over to wrap up the game early.
Paul ended on a quick-fire 27 from 13, while Hope had accumulated 45 from 43 deliveries to guide the Amazon Warriors to a 6-wicket victory.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will next take on Victoria on Friday, November 29, at the same venue and time.
