The vibrant reds, greens and golds of the Golden Arrowhead billowing in the night breeze – often intimidating but on Sunday night it was no match for the Tridents as they fought back on their home turf, both on and off the field.
Sent in to bat first, the Guyana Amazon Warriors became the victims of another batting meltdown, so much so that their bowlers, who have been superb all season, were unable to save them on this occasion.
A first innings to forget
The Amazon Warriors might have been able to recover from Mavendra Dindyal’s early departure for just six in the third over. However, as AM Ghazanfar went on to secure a triple-wicket strike, it became the visitors’ undoing.
Shai Hope lasted just two balls at his home ground before miscuing the ball to the short mid-on area where Gudakesh Motie was happy to claim the regulation catch.
But the over didn’t end there.
A spritely Shimron Hetmyer came to the middle and immediately got an inside edge off the final ball of Ghazanfar’s over, the ball ballooned and Quinton de Kock claimed a simple catch to put the Amazon Warriors 3 down for just 15 runs.
Glenn Phillips flexed his muscles against Motie’s bowling but it was soon of no consequence. Phillips, looking to free his arms after a few overs without a boundary, got height instead of distance off George Linde’s bowling and as such, failed to clear the ropes, with the catch being taken by Captain Chris Green at long-on. Phillips had the highest score thus far, hitting an almost run-a-ball 24, inclusive of two fours and one six.
The nightmare rolled on as Dwaine Pretorius got an inside edge off the very next ball, handing Linde back-to-back wickets and walking away with a duck.
48-5 at the half-way mark, there were serious concerns for the Amazon Warriors. That situation was only worsened by Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s need to play a big shot. The big swing offered the fielder around the deep square region another simple catch, as Miraz departed for 18 from 24 balls.
Quentin Sampson appeared to be the visitors’ lifeline. He got in, did the hard yards, ran the singles and was finally adjusted enough to go for the big shots. He was successful on two occasions but it seemed as though his shot for four over deep third was a point of contention for Johann Layne.
Layne finally had his revenge two deliveries later, as Sampson’s top edge only got so far as the wicketkeeper and he departed for 12 off 10. The debutant, Ronaldo Alimohamed, had no answers for Layne’s pace as the ball zipped past his bat, going on to rattle his stumps for a duck.
Romario Shepherd soon became the visitors’ last line of defence, but even he too struggled to get the ball away often. Soon enough, he teamed up with Captain Imran Tahir for a run-a-ball 31 partnership that got the team close to the 100-run mark.
But irony is a hell of a thing. On the same night that the Captain earlier celebrated his 100th game in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), his team found themselves bowled out for 99 in 18.1 overs.
After Tahir was run out for 8, trying to eke out a quick single after some indecision, Shepherd was the last man to fall, a victim of a clear setup as Sherfane Rutherford came in for his first over of the evening in the 19th.
On other days, they would be friends, but on Sunday night, Rutherford put the final nail in the coffin, having Shepherd caught for a run-a-ball 22.
Ghazanfar ended with figures of 3-17 from four overs while Layne picked up 3-14 from two others.
Bowlers fight back
The Guyana Amazon Warriors stepped out of their regular approach with the ball. Pretorius, who usually takes the new ball, sat out the power play, making way for Veerasammy Permaul to open the bowling.
In a glimmer of hope for the visitors, Permaul struck early, enticing Zachary Carter to go for the slog sweep which could not leave the circle and found the hands of Dindyal.
By the sixth over, Miraz had castled de Kock for 3, in spite of being slammed for a pair of sixes in that over. Tahir brought out his trademark celebration in the very next over, having Rutherford caught out at long-on as he tried to clear the ropes.
As the Amazon Warriors built up their hopes and those of their avid fans in the crowd, Shadrack Descarte picked up where he left off on Saturday night, giving Brandon King the licence to express his aggression.
Descarte hammered two fours and three sixes, racing to 32, before the overcast conditions that lingered throughout the day finally manifested in light showers. The Tridents hero could not continue his blitz much longer after the rain interruption, holing out to long-on.
The Tridents had not need to panic though as King enjoyed the first over of pace served up by the Amazon Warriors in the contest to knock off the necessary 13 runs.
King hit three fours and two sixes for an unbeaten 44 off 42, leading the Tridents home in 18.1 overs.
The win was nothing but a consolation for the hosts as the points table remained firmly in place with the Amazon Warriors and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons set to face off in the 1-and-2 clash on Thursday, September 17.
The Tridents will face the Jamaica Kingsmen on Wednesday, September 16 in the first eliminator of the play-offs.
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