Taylor, Powell setup Tallawahs win over Warriors

Ross Taylor and Rovman Powell struck unbeaten half-centuries as the Jamaica Tallawahs cruised to an 8-wicket win over the Guyana Amazon Warriors in Saturday night’s sold-out match, played under lights at the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
In a match where the Warriors opted to drop skipper Rayad Emrit following some lean performances, Australian all-rounder Chris Green was given the captaincy, and did well to marshal his team, which fell just short of a few runs in the end.
Inserted to bat after winning the toss, the home team made a strong impression upfront with their top-order; with half-centurion Jason Mohammed cracking three sixes and five fours in his 54 off 33; Shimron Hetmyer making an aggressive 48 with four fours and a six; and new opener Cameron Delport helping to set the tone with a brisk 34, taking the Warriors to 173-6 in their 20 overs.
The Tallawahs were then indebted to Taylor, the veteran New Zealand batsman, who played a typical innings, striking the ball with venom to see his franchise comfortably over the rope, as they ended on 177-2 in 18.1 overs.
The Kiwi ended on 60, with five fours and three sixes, sharing an unbroken stand of 114 with the all-rounder Powell, who struck 55 off 36, with six fours and two maximums to go along with his two wickets.
Warriors’ ace spinner Imran Tahir again was the difference, but despite snaring 2-30, could not pull things back alone.
Opener Glenn Phillips (27) got the chase on its way with a pace as he raced into the 20s in a matter of deliveries with a pair of fours and sixes, courtesy of some flashy shots around the ground. But a well-disguised ‘Googly,’ compliments of the master Tahir, who ran to the Party Stand to celebrate his wicket with the cheering Guyanese fans, saw the dismissal of the right-hander.
Despite their early loss, the Tallawahs reached 50 in the 6th over, but it was to be salted, as Tahir served up another Googly to disturb the stumps of the other opener, Johnson Charles, for 25. At the halfway mark, the visitors were 82-2, twelve runs more than the Warriors had at that stage, as they entered the last 10 overs with 92 runs needed for a win.
Taylor and the in-form Powell plundered the attack, finding the boundary and beyond with little effort. Taylor eventually reached his second fifty of the season, and Powell followed shortly after as they launched a pinch-hitting spectacle which saw the match ending with a boundary.
Earlier, a new-look starting pair, Luke Ronchi (6) and Delport, sought to mix things up after Chadwick Walton, who made an ultra-aggressive 25 down the order, failed in his opening stint for most of the season. That move also backfired when Ronchi played a half-hearted drive and was caught by Powell off Thomas, who continued to provide the early breakthroughs for the Tallawahs.
Delport struck three crisp fours early on to get his innings going in the most positive manner since his arrival in the team, and brought up his fourth off Guyanese off-spinner Steven Jacobs.
The home team went past their 50 mark in the 8th over with the South African looking dangerous in his thirties, but another ambitious attempt to clear the ropes resulted in a brilliant diving catch inches from the rope, courtesy of Powell (2-21) to give Badree his first. With just 70 on the board after the first 10 overs, Mohammed and Hetmyer were then tasked with ensuring the Warriors added 100 more at least.
Hetmyer turned up the heat on Ish Sodhi, who was clobbered for a big six before going for a boundary through extra-cover as the Warriors upped their ante against the spinners, whom Russell opted to have bowl for most of the innings. The left-right combo saw a number of boundaries being scored as the home side brought up their 100 inside 15 overs.
The final overs saw Hetmyer succumbing to a catch in the deep off Grandhomme, after attempting to pull Sodhi just two shy of what would have been a near-perfect half-century. Mohammed turned up the heat on Sodhi with a few masterful sixes; one over extra-cover, following Walton who hit Thomas over the same area a few deliveries prior; and one over mid-wicket, as he soon got to his fifty before being caught-and-bowled by Thomas.
The Warriors will now turn their attention to Sunday’s (tonight) must-win game versus the defending champions, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), which bowls off from 18:00h. (Clifton Ross)