Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will have one more shot at defending their Hero Caribbean Premier League title following a convincing 20-run win in the semis over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SKNP) at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad on Friday evening.
Trinbago Knight Riders celebrate the wicket of Devon Thomas
Once again, TKR had the crowd support behind them as they batted first after losing the toss; and climbing to 165-6 from their allotted overs, they then proceeded to restrict Patriots to 145 – 8 when the Patriots’ overs expired.
They now meet the Guyana Amazon Warriors who have defeated them in two consecutive matches in under a week in the final.
Brandon King is bowled by Sunil Narine
The impressive Ali Khan tormented Chris Gayle from the start of the chase with 5 hard-to-read deliveries which were followed up by a beauty as Gayle nicked one to Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps for a golden duck.
Certainly, that was the wicket that completely rocked the Patriots’ chasing strength and caused TKR to smell victory very early. That moment was adjudged the Hero Moment of the Match. Even with Devon Thomas’s 35, Ben King’s 33, and Fabian Allen’s unbeaten 32, Patriots could not keep the defending champions out of the grand finale, which is set for Sunday at the same venue.
Chris Gayle is caught behind by Denesh Ramdin
Fawad Ahmed, the man of the match, led with the ball, finishing with 3 – 13 from four overs. He was solidly supported by Sunil Narine, who had 2 – 21; while Khan, Colin Ingram and Kevin Cooper each had a SKNP skull.
Thomas scorched his score from 26 balls, four of which went to the boundary while one ended up over the ropes. Rassie van der Dussen (14), Evin Lewis (4), Anton Devcich (6), Ben Cutting (2), and Carlos Brathwaite (16) were all removed cheaply at regular intervals by a dominant TKR bowling line-up.
Ali Khan
TKR have been the most dominant side this season batting first, but have somewhat lost their steam for the last three matches.
Knowing this, their top order stuck it out, even with the early removal of Colin Ingram for 5 in the third over, with the score on 8.
This triggered the start of the backbone partnership of 71 between Brendon McCullum and the tournament’s top run scorer, Colin Munro.
They weathered the storm and kept the run rate modest, until Gayle joined Sheldon Cottrell on the wicket-taking list when he removed McCullum lbw for 43. The much anticipated Decision Referral System (DRS) made its inaugural run, as McCullum used the only TKR review and was unsuccessful.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots celebrate the wicket of Colin Munro
He had laced his 26-ball innings with three Hero maximums and two fours. TKR were 79-2 in 10.5 overs. Four balls later, Munro was caught by Gayle for 29 off Ben Cutting, going for an expansive drive but having a mishit.
Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo then featured in a 35-run partnership, lifting the score to 116 before the latter became the next wicket to fall. Darren’s 18-ball 20 was stopped by Cottrell, who got him to top edged a delivery on the sticky wicket to Anton Devcich at point.
Ramdin and the skipper combined next for a 37-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Dwayne forced a quick single and found himself short against a direct hit from Devon Thomas. TKR were now 153-5 with 1.1 overs left to bat.
Carlos Brathwaite was tasked with bowling the final over after going for just 15 in three overs. The new batsman, Kevon Cooper, made three, then flicked one to Evin Lewis at deep midwicket. The in-form Ramdin was able to secure 8 runs off the last four deliveries, as TKR recovered well with 165.
Cottrell finished his spell with two, while Gayle, Cutting and Brathwaite claimed a wicket each.
