The Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) continued their merry way on Thursday as they defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven wickets to record their fifth successive victory as the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) unfolded at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
SCORES: Guyana Amazon Warriors 112/7 (20) versus TKR 115/3 (18.2)
An inadequate score of 112/7 was met with intelligent batting and an appreciation for the situation by the TKR batsmen. They knew that a good start was imperative and openers Lendl Simmons and Tion Webster defended stoutly and attacked carefully. They arranged 34 for the first wicket close to the end of the powerplay. Simmons counted a run-a-ball 19 and Webster carried on a bit longer for 27 off 32 that included two sixes and two fours.
The livewire Imran Tahir saw the bails light up off successive balls as Webster and the consistent Colin Munro, left. The experience of Darren Bravo then told as he kept his team in the match by ensuring they didn't lose any further wickets. It was all about staying within striking distance of the required rate and keeping stocks in the dugout.
In the end, the victory was formalised by the dapper left-hander and New Zealander Tim Surfeit with 10 balls to spare. Bravo scored 26 not out off 28 balls, while the energetic Surfeit finished the match with two successive fours scoring an unbeaten 39 runs off 30 balls.
Another slow and low pitch put the bowlers at an advantage and the TKR men used it better than their opponents. The mayhem started from the second over by Sikandar Raza and Khary Pierre followed-up with a double strike in the other over.
Brandon King (6), Chandra Hemraj (2), and Nicolas Pooran (1) all had to enjoy the Port-of-Spain sunset from the dugout as Warriors slipped to 12/4 after just 16 balls of the match.
They never recovered the way they would have wanted and in the end, they were restricted to 112/7. Ross Taylor looked positive with 26 off 23, Shimron Hetmyer worked hard for 26 off 30 and the Warriors got some big hitting in the end by Keemo Paul (28 not out) and Romario Shepperd (11). Pierre ended with 3/18 and Fawad Ahmed although not taking a wicket went for only 18 off his four overs, including 10 in the last.
Man of the match Pierre said: "I'd like to thank Almighty God. It was a good all-round team performance and I'm happy for the win. I was watching the games before and the spinners were getting some purchase. It was an easy gameplan, just keeping things disciplined."
He has been very happy with his teammates, saying: "It's a family. Everyone looks out for each other. I'm happy that I'm part of this team. Guyana are a really good team, with a lot of upcoming T20 stars. We wanted to keep it simple."
SCORES:
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS 112/7 (20)(Keemo Paul 28, Shimron Hetmyer 26, Ross Taylor 26, Khary Pierre 3/18) vs TKR 115/3 (18.2) (Tim Surfeit 39 no, Darren Bravo 26 no, Tion Webster 27, Imran Tahir 2/25) - TKR won by seven wickets.