Champions Tallawahs

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride may be playing in the minds of the Guyana Amazon Warriors players, after they lost their third finals in the four-year history of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), giving the Jamaica Tallawahs their second title.

A dismal batting performance rendered the much anticipated clash a farce at the Warner Park, as midday through the match, the fans knew it was just a matter of time before Chris Gayle life his second trophy.

A combination of poor shots and disciplined bowling led to Warriors falling for just 93 runs from 16.1 overs batting first.

Gayle then struck a 27-ball half century and Chadwick Walton 25 not out, to take the Tallawahs to 95 for one of 12.5 overs. Chasing the small score, Gayle and Walton took their time initially but former soon decided that it was time to excite the 8,000 fans with big shots. He lifted the ball six times into the crowd in getting 54 and by the time he was dismissed the required rate was just over a run an over. Walton and Sri Lankan import Kumar Sangakkara duly completed the nine-wicket victory —to give the Tallawahs their second title, after taking the initial crown in 2012.

Earlier, the Jamaicans won the toss and asked Warriors to take first strike. They lost Australian Nic Maddison for a ‘duck’ and his dismissal led to a procession of batsmen to and from then dugout. All rounder Sohail Tanvir who has been a standout player for Warriors throughout the tournament was sent out early and he batted well in getting 41 but wickets fell continuously around him. He ended up getting a top score of 42 of 37 balls with six fours.

Apart from him only two other batsmen got into double figures Dwayne Smith 17 and Chris Barnwell 10. The pick of the bowlers for the Jamaicans were Imad Wasim 3/21, Kesrick Williams 2/12 and Shakib Al Hasan 2/25.

SCOREBOARD
Tallawahs vs Warriors

Warriors innings

D Smith         c Powell b Thomas    17
N Maddison   c Sangakkara b Russell    0
C Lynn       c Foo  b Al Hasan    7
S Tanvir      c Foo b Williams    42
J Mohammed     lbw Al Hasan    0
C Barnwell     c Gayle b Wasim    10
A Bramble     b Wasim    0
R Emrit          st Sangakkara b Wasim    0
S Jacobs      b Williams    7
V Permaul    not out    0
A Zampa      run out    2
Extras   
Total  all out (16.1ovs)    93
Fall of wkts: 1, 9, 50, 53, 70, 70, 83, 91, 93.
Bowling: A Russell 2.5-0-5-1, I Wasim 4-0-21-3, S Al Hasan 4-0-25-2, K Williams 2-0-12-2, O Thomas 4-0-28-1.

Tallawahs innings

C Gayle   c Jacobs b Emrit    54
C Walton    not out    25
K Sangakkara   not out    12
Extras   3w, 1nb    4
Total  for 1 wkt (12.5ovs)    95
Fall of wkts: 79.
Bowling: S Tanvir 4-0-17-0, S Jacobs 3-0-33-0, A Zampa 1-0-18-0, R Emrit 3-0-13-1, V Permaul 1.5-0-14-0.

Result: Jamaica Tallawahs won by 9 wkts to be crowned 2016 Hero CPL champions.