— Tallawahs beaten by 4 wkts in rain affected twister
The Guyana Amazon Warriors beat the Jamaica Tallawahs by four wickets with two balls to spare in playoff one of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at Warner Park St. Kitts on Wednesday night.
Sohail Tanvir and Captain Rayad Emrit got together at 116/6 at 16.5 overs with 31 runs still needed from 19 balls and it seemed improbable. However, the Warriors were determined and got home when Tanvir hit Imad Wasim for a maximum to seal the deal with two balls to spare. Tanvir ended on 21 from 13 with two maximums while Emrit played a cool innings hitting a four from nine balls to end on 11 not out.
Set 147 to win against a potent Tallawahs bowling attack the Warriors had a cautious start with an eye on the rain with Duckworth/Lewis at the back of their minds. Chris Lynn once again carried the Warriors batting with a responsible 49 from 47 balls (1×4; 3×6) but got little support from the rest of the top order as pressure and the required run rate was mounting after regular rain stoppages kept the players and spectators anxious and the ground staff busy.
Chris Gayle was cleaned up by Christopher Barnwell Photo by Randy Brooks/Sportsfile
Earlier, Emrit won the toss and inserted the Tallawahs who got to a 146/8 which turned out to be competitive but definitely below par. Emrit grabbed three wickets while Tanvir bowled well for his two scalps with spinners Adam Zampa and Steven Jacobs bagging one a piece on a pitch that offered a little for the slower bowlers. Chris Barnwell who picked up the very important wicket of Chris Gayle was the other wicket taker for the Warriors who have played in the finals on two previous occasions in 2013 and 2014.
Gayle hit the top score of 33 but the other batsmen were bugged down by disciplined bowling and tidy ground fielding. Rovman Powell, 23 and Kumar Sangakkara 20 got starts but didn’t carry on leaving the run chase for the Warriors to be a challenging walk in the park.
The Jamaica Tallawahs will have another shot to go to the final on Friday against the winner of Playoff two which is being contested between this year’s dark horses the St. Lucia Zouks and 2015 champions Trinbago Knight Riders. Playoff two bowls off tonight at 19:00h also at Warner Park.
