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On September 3, two games got underway at Kensington Oval at Bridgetown. Earlier in the day, Trinbago Knight Riders took on Jamaica Tallawahs in a closely contested game which saw the Knight Riders clinch a narrow two-run victory. Later in the evening, it was St Kitts and Nevis Patriots who took on Barbados Royals in a massive run feast packed with scintillating fireworks.
Following the end of today’s fixtures, St Lucia Kings are still at the top spot in the points table with three wins out of six games. They are comfortably situated with a decent-looking NRR of +2.388. Guyana Amazon Warriors are ranked second in the points table with three wins in four games. Their NRR stands at an impressive high of +3.283.
After today’s closely fought victory, Trinbago Knight Riders remain at the third spot with three wins in five games and have a robust-looking NRR of +1.326. Barbados Royals have surged forward to claim the fourth spot in the points table. They now have three wins in seven games and have marginally bettered their NRR to -1.970.
Jamaica Tallawahs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are at the bottom of the points table at numbers 5 & 6 respectively. The Tallawahs currently have two wins in the tournament and are struggling with an impoverished NRR of -0.038.
Meanwhile, the sorry tale for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots continues as they suffer their sixth consecutive defeat this season. They are ranked sixth in the points table with a shambolic-looking NRR of -2.268.
Knight Riders hold their nerve and restrict the Tallawahs to just 140
Trinibago got off to an electrifying start as their openers plundered 58 runs in the first seven overs without losing a wicket. Martin Guptill played the role of the anchor while Mark Deyal knocked the ball around in the powerplay. Mohammed Amir did get a maiden to his name but failed to break the partnership.
Tallawahs were eventually able to find a way to restrict Knight Riders’ scoring rate. Mark Deyal was the first one to depart after finding Alex Hales at mid-on as he got dismissed at 30. Nicholas Pooran sliced the ball high in the air as Kelvin Pitman raced forward to collect the catch in the same over. Striking at a rate of 60, Martin Guptill swept the ball aerially but found the fielder in the deep as his misery ended at 15.
With wickets tumbling, The Trinbago Knight Riders endured a 36-ball boundary drought as Lorcan Tucker and Kieron Pollard set themselves up for a 52-run partnership. Tucker smashed two fours and as many sixes while Pollard hammered one four and two sixes each. Amir got his wicket column filled when he picked the wicket of Tucker in the 17th over at 30.
The Knight Riders were able to muster only 11 runs in the last two overs as Amir struck twice and Irshad got one wicket to his name. The Knight Riders continued to struggle in the death overs and ended up with a measly total of 143 to chase.
In response, the Tallwahs had a good start too with the skipper Brandon King getting off the blocks pretty early. But after the dismissal of King, the Knight Riders gradually crawled their way back into the game. Russell, Narine, and Salamkheil picked up the wickets and Ali Khan nailed the yorkers under pressure to defend a paltry total of 142. TKR didn't have enough runs on the board and they had to deal with a 57-run opening partnership.
But, Salamkheil started the procession of wickets with others chipping in at regular intervals. However, Imad Wasim along with Chris Green's cameo of 32 off 16 brought life into the Tallawahs’ innings. But Wasim failed to finish things off as Ali Khan held his nerve and bowled a good last over. Ultimately Trinbago Knight Riders managed to win the match by just two runs.
Royals complete a record-breaking chase to hand the Patriots their sixth consecutive defeat
After opting to bat, Patriots took flight courtesy of Andrew Fletcher and Will Smeed who were severe on anything loose. They mixed caution with aggression to perfection and stitched together a 115-run opening stand. Cornwall struck in the 12th over to send back Fletcher and he struck again in his next over and got Smeed but the damage had already been done by then.
The stand-in Patriots' skipper, Rutherford, put on a show and proved his potential as he smashed the ball all around the ground. He particularly punished Brathwaite who leaked 43 runs in his final two overs at the death.
A whopping 78 runs came off the last five overs which powered the Patriots to a colossal total of 220. Qais Ahmad bowled a tidy spell in the middle overs but the other bowlers were looted for runs at almost 10 RPO.
Just when we thought that we had seen it all, Rahkeem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers went all guns blazing right from the word go. Cornwall unleashed some sheer carnage on the Patriots' bowlers who went the distance. In pursuit of their stiff target of 221, Cornwall and Kyle Mayers blasted their way through scoring 41 inside the first four overs. Mayers departed early but Cornwall ensured that the Royals still pressed hard during the middle overs.
He used his long handle to good effect and dispatched the ball to all parts leaving the Patriots bowlers absolutely clueless. He scored a record-breaking century of 102 off 48 which involved four fours and 12 sixes. Rovmall Powell did the rest and he notched up a quickfire cameo of 49 (26) to see his side to safety.
The Patriots ended up with a very sorry-looking bowling card. Excluding Oshane Thomas and Corbin Bosch, all the bowlers leaked runs at well over 10 RPO with Yannic Cariah being the most expensive of the lot. Bosch and Drakes were the only wicket-takers for the Patriots tonight who suffer yet another heartbreaking defeat and as a result prolong their unwanted winless streak in this year’s CPL tournament.
