Seven in a row for Knight Riders, Warriors too win in Hero CPL

 

             Tarouba, Sep 2: Colin Munro and Kieron Pollard shone bright as Trinbago Knight Riders recorded their seventh straight win in the Hero Caribbean Premier League, beating Jamaica Tallawahs by 19 runs here.

In another match, Guyana Amazon Warriors claimed an easy eight-wicket win over Barbados Tridents to register their fourth victory in eight matches.

Pollard (33) and Munro (65) smashed 71 off the last five overs as the Knight Riders piled up 184 for four after being sent to bat first. Openers Lendl Simmons (25) and Sunile Narine (29) too contributed to the score.

The Knight Riders then returned to restrict Jamaica Tallawahs to 165 for six to win by 19 runs, despite Andre Russell’s fine unbeaten 50.

Narine gave his team a flying start, hitting two fours off Fidel Edwards and then top-edging one for a six to take 17 off the first over. He then plundered Carlos Brathwaite for three fours in a row but he rallied to take Narine’s wicket.

Munro (65 in 54 balls) was let off early while on four, and he made Tallawahs pay for it. Simmons kept the tempo from the other end as Knight Riders reached 49 for one in the Powerplay.

Knight Riders lost Simmons at 78 and then Tim Siefert (18) at 111, but Munro and Pollard (33 in 16) smashed the ball all over the park, putting on 73 for the fourth wicket.

Munro, who had 10 fours and a six, was out off the last ball of the innings off Braithwaite, but the damage had been done. Pollard smashed three sixes and a four.

Spinner Sandeep Lamichhane with one for 20 in four overs was the pick of the bowlers.

Chasing the target, Chadwick Walton slashed the first ball to point, giving Akeal Hosein a dream start. Jermain Blackwood (12) was bowled by Khary Pierre, reducing the Tallawahs to 14 for two in the second over.

At the end of the Powerplay the Tallawahs had crawled to 35 for two.

The in-form Glenn Phillips and Nkrumah Bonner (26) put on 63 for the third wicket. Yet at the halfway mark, the Tallawahs were 70 for 2.

Bonner, who had slowed down, fell leg before to Fawad, who had just been hit for a six by Phillips.

In the 13th over, a Fawad google accounted for Rovman Powell (2) and Tallawahs were 84 for four. Phillips (41) and Asif Ali (7) too left before Tallawahs could cross 100-mark.

Russell and Braithwaite (21 in 16) shared 68 runs in just 6 overs but Tallawahs still fell short in the end.

In the other match, electing to bat, Barbados Tridents were never in the game as they lost a wicket in each of the first four overs to be reduced to 4 for 9.

Mitchell Santner (36), Rashid Khan (19) and Kyle Mayers (10) tried their bit before the Tridents were bundled out for 92 in 20 overs.

Naveen ul Haq took four for 14 in four overs to earn the player of match award.

In reply, Brandon King opened for Warriors with Kevin Sinclair. Though Sinclair (3) and Shimron Hetmeyer (9) left early with the total at 35, Warriors had no trouble.

King with 51 not out in 49 balls and Nicolas Pooran, the only centurion of the CPL, had a 50-plus unbeaten stand as the Warriors won by eight wickets with 3.2 overs to spare. (PTI)