A bit of revenge for last year’s Republic Bank CPL was on the cards on Wednesday night as the Trinbago Knight Riders overcame the Guyana Amazon Warriors by 5 wickets.
Though the Amazon Warriors were slow to start, the defending champions were coming along nicely at 55-2 in 8 overs. However 3 major wickets fell in the space of 9 balls, dragging the defending champions deeper into hot waters.
Shimron Hetmyer went first, attempting a big shot off the very first ball of the 19th over being bowled by Waqar Salamkheil. However, all Hetmyer could get on the ball was the toe- end of the bat, as it holes out to fine leg and found the safe hands of Akeal Hosein.
Two balls and one run later, Robinson miscued a shot which a leaping Dwayne Bravo leapt up to catch at slip , departing for a hard- fought 34. Then, when Keemo Paul chopped Bravo’s bowling onto his stumps, the sea of red at the Queen’s Park Oval erupted in ecstasy.
Things seemed to calm down for a minute for the Amazon Warriors but the reintroduction of the mystery man, Sunil Narine into the bowling attack brought more woes to the defending champions’ doorstep.
First, indecision on the part of Moeen Ali and Gudakesh Motie in taking a quick single, resulted in a clever run out, effected by Nicholas Pooran. With Ali gone, Motie followed soon after, he bamboozled by the last delivery of Sunil Narine’s third over.
At the start of the 13th over, the Amazon Warriors had two new batsmen at the crease with 7 wickets down for just 76 runs. Truly a terrible position.
However a 72-run partnership from Romario Shepherd and Dwaine Pretorius brought the defending champions out of trouble and got them to a respectable and defendable total.
Shepherd surged to the top of the Amazon Warriors’ batting charts, slamming 3 fours and 4 sixes for an unbeaten 51 off 24 deliveries faced, while Pretorius also ended unbeaten on 21 from 25 balls.
With 148-7 in their 20 overs, there was a lot for the defending champions to defend.
With 12 runs struck off the first over of their chase, the Knight Riders tricked their boisterous supporters into thinking that the chase would be an easy one. But, Sunil Narine departed in the next over, owing to Moeen Ali’s doing.
The defending champions’ bowling line-up, after that point, that did well to contain the Knight Riders’ batters. Then, when Nathan Sowter Bowles his second- ever over of the CPL, TKR’s problems began to grow.
Sowter baited Shaqkere Parris into a big shot and had him caught for a run- a- ball 29 and a few balls later, castled Keacy Carty for 10.
Much to the dismay of the crowd in Port- of- Spain, TKR Captain Kieron Pollard became Shamar Joseph’s first wicket of the Republic Bank CPL.
Just when the required run- rate was approaching 13 for the Knight Riders, Andre Russell presented himself as the answer to their problems, hitting a quartet of sixes off Sowter and Paul.
Paul recovered well in that over however and backed by a tidy 19th over from Pretorius, the pressure was back on.
It was a ‘cometh the man, cometh the moment’ situation for Tim David, who, until the 19th over was striking at just 86 with just 19 from 22 balls.
However, the decision to bowl Paul in the last over turned out to be a dreadful one, with the Guyanese all-rounder being deposited for two sixes to get the required 12 runs for victory.
The CPL continues tonight with the Knight Riders back in action, this time against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.
