Trinbago Knight Riders benefited from Jamaica Tallawahs’ miscalculation of sending Andre Russell too late down the order as they won their seventh straight game in the Caribbean Premier League 2020 at the Brian Lara stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad on Tuesday. In the other game, defending champions Barbados Tridents suffered humiliation as they were bowled out for 92 against Guyana Amazon Warriors to suffer an eight-wicket defeat.

Jamaica Tallwahs inserted the Trinbago Knight Riders in on a pitch that had some tennis-ball like bounce and once again, it was Sunil Narine who gave Trinbago Knight Riders the ideal start. He smashed two boundaries and a six off Fidel Edwards and smashed a hat-trick of fours from Carlos Brathwaite. However, the bowler had his revenge by getting him out in the very next delivery for 29 off 11 balls.

Colin Munro was dropped on 3 by Jermaine Blackwood and he made the Jamaica Tallawahs pay, with two fours off Rovman Powell. Lendl Simmons, who has struggled in this season of the CPL, hit a six off Fidel Edwards and Powell but he fell to Sandeep Lamichhane for 25. Munro kept finding the boundaries and he shared a decent partnership with Tim Seifert and the left-hander notched up his fifty off 45 balls by smashing a four and a six off Powell. Trinbago Knight Riders skipper Kieron Pollard blasted a six and a four off Mujeeb Ur Rahman and he notched up the fifty partnership with a six off Edwards. Munro and Pollard both smashed 15 runs in the final over as Trinbago Knight Riders ended on 184/4.

Tallawahs sluggish

Jamaica Tallawahs lost Chadwick Walton in the first ball of their innings. Jermaine Blackwood started with three boundaries cheaply but he fell for 12. Glenn Phillips and Nkrumah Bonner stitched a solid partnership but their progress was slow. With the asking rate over 10, Jamaica Tallawahs lost Bonner, Phillips, Asif Ali and Powell in quick succession.

With 80 runs needed in four overs and with Russell and Brathwaite at the crease, Jamaica Tallawahs needed something special. Brathwaite slammed a four off Narine while Russell hit a six as 68 runs were needed off three overs. In the 18^th over bowled by Jayden Seales, Brathwaite hit a six but Russell hit two fours and a six as Jamaica Tallawahs needed 46 off two overs. Dwayne Bravo conceded just eight runs in the 19^th over and despite Russell notching up a 23-ball fifty with two sixes and a four, Trinbago Knight Riders won the match despite the scare.

Defending champions humiliated

In the other game, Barbados Tridents were humiliated by Guyana Amazon Warriors as Naveen-ul-Haq ran riot. Barbados Tridents chose to bat and they were in danger of the lowest T20 score as they were reduced to 27/8 in 12 overs, with Naveen-ul-Haq taking four wickets. The Barbados Tridents did not help themselves with run-outs at crucial times, including that of skipper Jason Holder first ball.

Had it not been for a partnership of almost fifty between Mitchell Santner and Rashid Khan, Barbados Tridents would have ended up with a score of under 50. Santner showed his attacking intent with a six and a four off Imran Tahir. The left-hander hit another six off Kissoondath Magram while Rashid  Khan showed his class with two sixes in one over bowled by Keemo Paul. Naveen-ul-Haq broke the stand with the wicket of Rashid Khan and although Barbados Tridents played out their 20 overs, they were bowled out for 92 with Santner the last to go with 36.

Guyana Amazon Warriors started sluggishly with Kevin Sinclair and Shimron Hetmyer falling cheaply but Brandon King smashed a magnificent 50 and Nicholas Pooran gave him good support as the Guyana Amazon Warriors continued their winning momentum.