The unbeaten Guyana Amazon Warriors have moved to the top of the table after a 6 wicket win over Trinbago Knight Riders last night in the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad.
Captain Imran Taahir won the toss for the Warriors and chose to field first with the dew’s assistance in mind when the time came to chase. The Knight Riders recovered from a tricky start to post a challenging 173 to win. Thanks to half centuries from Saim Ayub (62) and Barbadian Shai Hope (51), the Warriors would win with five balls remaining.
The Knight Riders had a decent powerplay despite the lost wickets of key wickets Mark Deyal and Nicholas Pooran who was dismissed by Keemo Paul thanks to a brilliant one handed catch from wicketkeeper Azam Khan.
After Martin Guptill went in the 9th over to leave his side 57-3 in the ninth over, there was pressure on the middle order to rebuild and set up a contest.
Step forward Akeal Hosein, who is known more for his left arm spin but is having a renaissance as a genuine allrounder. His score of 44* alongside Lorcan Tucker’s knock of 38 put the hosts back into a good position before cameos from Andre Rusell (17) and Kieron Pollard (25) guided them to 172-8.
In reply, the Amazon Warriors started auspiciously with opener Chandrapaul Hemraj getting out in the second over for just 10. That brought West Indies 50 over captain Hope to the crease. His 93 run partnership from just 67 balls with Pakistani opener Ayub laid the foundation for a fourth successive victory.
Both of them would fall before the game was officially over but Azam Khan and Shimron Hetmyer hit four Republic Bank maximums between them to seal the win in style.
This victory means the Amazon Warriors are back to the top of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table with nine points, despite playing at least one game less than their nearest competitors Saint Lucia Kings (8) and Trinbago Knight Riders (7).
Up next for the Amazon Warriors is a match against the Barbados Royals on Sunday September 10th. Trinbago Knight Riders face the Royals later today.
Summarised Scores
Trinbago Knight Riders 172-8 in 20 overs (Akeal Hosein 44*, Lorcan Tucker 38; Odean Smith 3-38)
Guyana Amazon Warriors 173-4 in 19.1 overs (Saim Ayub 62, Shai Hope 51; Andre Rusell 2-29, Ali Khan 2-30)
Guyana Amazon Warriors win by 6 wickets.