South African all-rounder JP Duminy blasted a fastest-ever Hero Caribbean Premier League half-century, while young spinner Hayden Walsh Jr bagged a career-best T20 haul to steer the Barbados Tridents to a 63-run win over the Trinbago Knight Riders at the Kensington Oval in Barbados last night.
Duminy hit a blistering 20-ball 65, including his fifty off just 15 balls, to guide the Tridents to 192-5, before Walsh took five wickets for just 19 runs, the best CPL haul this season as well, as TKR were blitzed out for just 129.
The result created another upheaval in the lower half of the six-team table, as while TKR remained second with nine points after two losses and a no-result in their last three matches, the Tridents jumped up into fourth spot with six points, two behind the St Kitts Nevis Patriots. The St Lucia Zouks slipped down to fifth spot while the Jamaica Tallawahs remained on the bottom with four points.
The TKR now head back home for two matches against the Warriors and Tridents with the wrong momentum after starting the season with four straight wins. Tridents meanwhile prepare for a weekend home-stand against the Patriots and the Zouks.
Last night, the combination of Duminy and Walsh just proved too much for TKR. But after Duminy's knock lifted his Tridents teammates and the fans, it was leg-break specialist Walsh who took over.
Brought on in the ninth over, Walsh first bowled the experienced Denesh Ramdin for 11 off his third ball as TKR slid to 75-4.
His next over, the 11th of the innings, was even better. He first got the prized scalp of TKR skipper Kieron Pollard for just 3, caught in the deep by opposite number Jason Holder, who then sprinted around the boundary and urged the home fans to cheer them to victory. In the next ball, Jimmy Neesham played back to Walsh's googly and when it spun and bounced awkwardly, could not get his bat out the way, edged it and was caught by Ashley Nurse at slip for a duck. Walsh missed the hattrick in the next ball but got Seekkuge Prasanna with the next one, caught at deep square leg by Alex Hales, also without scoring.
At that juncture, Walsh had bowled two overs and taken four wickets for just four runs. He was not done yet though, as he got another prized scalp in topscorer Darren Bravo (28) in his final over to complete his first-ever five-for haul and the first such haul in the CPL this season.
The door for Walsh's effort had been opened when Tridents got just the start they needed after they removed the dangerous Sunil Narine and in-form Lendl Simmons inside the Power Play overs. Narine was bowled by Holder for 19 while Simmons cut Harry Gurney straight into the hands of Hayden Walsh at backward point as TKR slumped to 44-2.
TKR found scoring hard to come by after that but when Walsh came on in the ninth over to produce his spin bowling blitz they had no answer.
Earlier, Duminy gave Tridents the late impetus they needed with his blistering half-century after they struggled to 116 for three after 15 overs, despite a century opening stand from Jonathan Carter and Johnson Charles.
Charles hit 58 off 39 balls, including eight fours, while Carter, dropped by Khary Pierre at deep midwicket off leg-break specialist Prassana when he was only 18, took his bat to a 46-ball 51.
Champion TKR spinner Narine finally made the breakthrough in the 14th over when he got Carter to hole out to Munro at deep midwicket as Tridents lost their first wicket with 110 on the board.
Pierre then made up for the earlier drop by removing Charles and Alex Hales (1) in the next over, both caught in the deep, as the Tridents slipped to 116-3.
Narine and Pierre then bowled two tight overs before Duminy broke the shackles. He hit pacer Ali Khan for three massive maximums and a four in the 18th over, which brought 24 runs, then blasted Neesham for three fours and two sixes in a 25-run 19th over to push the Tridents to 178. Duminy, whose knocked overall knocked was laced with four fours and seven sixes, entered the CPL record books in that Neesham over when he blasted the medium-pacer over long-off for a six.
But Pollard bowled a good comeback last over in which he removed Duminy and opposite number Holder for a duck to keep the Tridents from reaching the 200 mark. By then, however, the Tridents had the total they needed for a much-needed win.
SUMMARISED SCORES:
BARBADOS TRIDENTS 192-5 (20) (JP Duminy 65, Johnson Charles 58, Jonathan Carter 51, Khary Pierre 2/24, Kieron Pollard 2/38) v TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS 129 all out (17.4) (Darren Bravo 28, Colin Munro 23, Hayden Walsh 5/19, JP Duminy 2/24)
Result: BARBADOS TRIDENTS WON BY 63 RUNS
Man-of-the-match: JP Duminy (BT)