GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS captain Imran Tahir was grateful to his batters for setting up his side’s important 47-run win over the Barbados Royals Wednesday night that puts them in a strong position to clinch one of the top two spots in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League playoffs.
“It was a big game for us but I think the boys played really well; set up a nice total for us to defend,” Tahir said after the match. “It was a little bit difficult I think after 12 overs. The dew came in a little bit and that’s normal in Guyana and we prepared for that. But I think we just wanted to bat first...and we just wanted to put a big score on the board and try and defend it.”
In particular skipper Tahir commended the work of three of the men in his top order.
“Really well played; Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Azam (Khan) had a great start and everyone chipped in. It was a perfect start from the batters,” he said.
Having established a total of 219 for eight in their 20 overs, the stage was set for the Amazon Warriors bowlers to lock down the win as they limited the Royals to 172 for nine.
“Moeen (Ali) bowled really well and..we kept getting wickets...(Gudakesh) Motie, Moeen, even Junior Sinclair, he bowled really well whenever he had an opportunity, even in the previous game, so it’s really nice to have those guys in your group and as a captain you feel really free,”
The Royals would have been hopeful of a top of the table finish too, given their earlier form in the competition but a third defeat for them in recent matches means they may have to settle for third or fourth place and a harder path to the title.
Royals captain Rovman Powell won the toss on what looked a fantastic batting wicket and opted to insert the opposition. The pitch was conducive to strokeplay and despite the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Warriors cashed in.
At one point, when Hope and Hetmyer were in full flow and displaying some mouth-watering strokeplay it very much looked like a bigger total would be in the offing for the Warriors. But after the two experienced hands fell before the end (for 71 off 37 balls and 57 off 34 balls respectively) the Royals managed to peg the defending champions back in the final five overs. Maheesh Theeskhana was the pick of the Royals bowlers with an economical and wicket-taking spell of three for 15.
So consistent in the earlier stages of the competition, the Royals’ batting card failed to fire in response.
Moeen pinned talisman Quinton De Kock lbw for 35 and Tahir sprinted off into the outfield in customary celebration with the key wicket of Powell.
David Miller offered some resistance in the Royals middle order and played some audacious strokes at the back end to take him to a battling half century, but wickets continuously fell all around him as the Warriors spin attack used the scoreboard pressure to their advantage and piled on the pain.
Moeen continued his fine tournament with the ball by claiming two for 16 and fellow spinner Motie was more expensive but pocketed three wickets. The Warriors are finding form in both departments as the competition heads into its final phase.
Miller’s pyrotechnics once the result had effectively been decided meant the final scorecard wasn’t as grim as it could have been for the Royals but they have plenty to put right after a chastening defeat to their fellow title hopefuls.
Powell however, is still exuding calm.
“We are settled with our best XI; we know what we going to go with in the playoffs. It’s an opportunity for us just to fine-tune a few things. Winning does build confidence in the group but still, we lose a few games, confidence is not down. We know next week is when the real cricket starts,” he said.
Summarised scores:
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS 219-8, 20 overs (Shai Hope 71, Shimron Hetmyer 57. Maheesh Theekshana 3/15).
vs BARBADOS ROYALS 172-9, 20 overs (David Miller 71 n.o., Quinton De Kock 35; Gudakesh Motie 3/42, Moeen Ali 2/16, Imran Tahir 2/22).
---Amazon Warriors won by 47 runs.