Pollard's maiden T20 ton hands St. Lucia Stars their first win in CPL 2018

It was an exciting Friday night at the Darren Sammy International Stadium at Gros Islet, as St. Lucia Stars romped home to an exciting win - their first win of the 2018 season, in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2018. They defeated the Barbados Tridents by 38 runs.

Batting first, St. Lucia lost David Warner for a duck, but Andre Fletcher and Rahkeem Cornwall (30 off 11) pushed the scoreboard rapidly. The team reached 50 in the fifth over, when Cornwall and Lendl Simmons (0) got dismissed by Wahab Riaz in consecutive balls.

The score was 57/3 in 4.4 overs when Pollard came in to partner Fletcher. The duo then put up 148 runs in 13.5 overs, as the ball found its way across and over the ropes multiple times. Fletcher (80 off 52, 6 fours, 6 sixes) finally fell prey to Riaz in the nineteenth over, but Pollard wasn't done yet.

He completed his first-ever T20 hundred with three balls left in the innings, with a six over long-on, as he also registered St.Lucia's best ever total in the CPL. The next ball saw his dismissal as well, but by then the damage was done, with Pollard himself at a 104 off 54, including 6 fours and 8 maximums. The hosts ended their run at 226 for 6 in 20 overs.

It was always going to be a tough chase for the side from Barbados, and they, in turn, looked highly rusty. Guptill (7 off 9) and Amla (14 off 14) struggled, and though Dwayne Smith made a fine half-century, he consumed far too many deliveries in doing so.

Steven Smith (28 off 16), Shai Hope (25 off 16) and Nicolas Pooran (23 off 11) tried to create some damage, but in the end, it amounted to too much to do with very little time remaining. Eventually, they ended up at 188 for 6 in 20 overs.

"We knew we had to play a good brand of cricket, we deserve this victory tonight, despite all the obstacles that have been placed before us. The crowd has been very supportive, they are our 12th man, so I hope they will come in large numbers and keep supporting us," Pollard said while receiving his man-of-the-match award, while losing captain Jason Holder rued the mistakes his side made whilst bowling and fielding.