The game between St. Kitts & Nevis patriots and Barbados Tridents in the CPL 2016 witnessed a surreal scene when Tabraiz Shamsi held on to a brilliant catch, courtesy an edge from batsman Steven Taylor. The ball went on to kiss the wicket-keeper's gloves before heading towards the fielder at short third man.
Seasoned player Thisara Perera bowled a short delivery that held its line, as Taylor failed to get his meat of the bat down at the right time. Devon Thomas, the wicket-keeper, must have thanked his stars, as opener Taylor could have taken the match away in no time.
Perera ended with match figures of 2/31, but that wasn't enough as Barbados Tridents clinched their maiden victory by seven wickets to put up their first points on the board. For Shamsi, that bizarre catch turned out to be the only highlight of the day, since he failed to get any purchase from the track and ended with figures of 0/41.
During match number 8 of CPL 2016, the Patriots called the coin right and elected to bat at Warner park. Evin Lewis top scored with a gritty half-century and Carter chipped in with 41 to take his side to 162 for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. David Wiese was the pick of the bowlers for Tridents, as he bent his back to scalp two wickets, giving away just 14 runs.
In reply, AB de Villiers and Shoaib Malik crafted their respective fifties to guide Tridents to their first victory of this edition of the CPL. De Villiers scored a 33-ball unbeaten 63, that included some breath-taking strokes for which he was adjudged the man of the match, while Malik came up with a solid 54.
The 63-run third wicket stand between De Villiers and Malik turned out to be vital for the chasers with both the batsmen finding the gaps without much fuss. Malik played second fiddle to De Villiers, and his knock included two boundaries and as many sixes. Fellow South African Wayne Parnell,too had a good day at the office, returning with figures of 2/22 in his quota of four overs.
Barbados will be relieved to get off the mark finally while the Patriots will have to swallow the bitter pill from this particular encounter before heading to their next match. The Patriots now face Guyana Amazon Warriors in their next tie on July 9, while Barbados Tridents will lock horns with Jamaica Tallahwahs in Bridgetown two days later.
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