Guyana Amazon Warriors 175/4 (Ayub 62, Hope 51; Russell 2/29, Khan 2/30) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 172/8 (Hosein 44*, Tucker 38; Smith 3/31, Paul 1/17) by six wickets
By Prior Beharry
AT least five drop catches by the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) helped the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) to a six-wicket victory at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Tuesday night.
The win means that GAW are back on top of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2023 table.
After winning the toss and putting TKR into bat, the Guyana franchise restricted their opponents to 45/2 at the end of the Power Play.
Wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker made 38 off 25 balls with five fours before being run out.
Akeal Hosein sent in at No 5 did his role of steadying the innings coming out unbeaten on 44 from 35 ball with two 4s and three 6s.
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Skipper Kieron Pollard made an important 25 with TKR ending on 172/8.
GAW started off well in their run chase with opener Saim Ayub making 62 from 43 balls with four 4s and four 6s.
Shai Hope played the anchor role as usual with a knock of 51 from 40 balls hitting three 4s and three 6s.
Andre Russell and Ali Khan were the only two successful wicket takers for TKR with two each.
Waqar Salamkheil was the pick of he bowlers but showed his disgust as his teammates let off batmen in the outfield.
Mark Deyal dropped Hope on 25 at long. It was one of the let downs for Salamkheil who conceded 39 in his four overs without taking a wicket.
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Shimron Hetmyer was dropped by Hosein off the bowling of Khan. He was on 13.
Chanderpaul Hemraj was also dropped on six by Martin Guptill before Nicholas Pooran caught him off the bowling of Khan for ten.
Man of the Match Ayub, of Pakistan, deserved his award for his 63 ably supported by Hope and Azam Khan with an unbeaten 29.
Ayub and Hope laid the foundation for the Warriors with a partnership of 93 from 67 balls.
The Man of the Match said, “I am enjoying because the team environment is very good. All our friendly, Caribbean environment is great. I just try to enjoy every bit of my cricket. The batters were great. The team is believing in me and this is just the start. I have learnt a lot from him (Hope). That partnership was crucial.”
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Losing captain Pollard said, “You try different things, Akeal did a fantastic job. We know his capabilities and he played a fantastic innings. Not concerned, one loss is not going to make us concerned. Nothing is a concern.
“These guys are great. It’s a hectic week for us, we can’t cry and lick our wounds. Just have to come back. Couldn’t get over the line. It is about understanding where we are as a team. We will come back in less than 24 hours and hope to get better.”
The victory means GAW (nine points) are on top of the standings with St Lucia Kings second on eight points.
TKR take on Barbados Royals on Wednesday night at the same venue. Both teams are on seven points so a win will draw them level with GAW who have a healthy run rate of 2.601.
