Phillips was put in to bat by Fletcher and the New Zealander took control of a digital version of himself and he was out of the gate like a shot, making 30 runs off the first over on his way to a match-winning score.
Chadwick Walton fell early but the wicket of his opening partner did not slow Phillips down as he brought up a 10 ball fifty in the third over as he used his crease to make it difficult for the bowler to bowl to his plans. It was 105/1 at the end of the fourth over and a single from the first ball of the fifth got Phillips back on strike for the last five balls of the innings.
Phillips continued to plunder runs from the last over, finishing on 80 (19) and leaving the Zouks a daunting 127 to win.
Fletcher got the Zouks chase underway with some fireworks as he took control of himself and smashed 26. He looked well set to match Phillips’ efforts, but a mistimed shot saw him caught at extra cover.
When Andre Russell had Rahkeem Cornwall caught and bowled in the next over it left the Zouks in trouble, and it got worse when Daren Sammy was out first ball.
Sandeep Lamichhane went even better than Russell when he picked up a hattrick, dismissing Mohammad Nabi, Roston Chase and Scott Kuggeleijn to leave the Zouks chase in tatters at 41/6.
Some lusty blows from Chemar Holder brought some respectability to the Zouks total as he made 34 (7) but it was too little too late as the Tallawahs emerged winners by 28 runs.
This is the first time a T20 franchise tournament has had an Esports competition with the cricketers representing their franchise as the Hero CPL continues to push the boundaries of engagement with their fans.
Released next week, this fun and engaging series will bring the reality of T20 cricket, but with a big difference – the players will be controlling virtual versions of themselves and instead of just having their own game to worry about they are in charge of all of their teammates.
“The Hero CPL is always looking to engage fans in different ways and this is another example of us innovating. This series is another first for a tournament that prides itself on being at the cutting edge of entertainment and we are very excited about seeing the reaction from our fans as they see these CPL stars show off their competitive skills in a virtual tournament,” said Hero CPL COO Pete Russell.
The players taking part are Colin Munro playing as the Trinbago Knight Riders, Mitchell Santner representing Barbados Tridents, Andre Fletcher and Kesrick Williams playing as St Lucia Zouks, Sheldon Cottrell and Ish Sodhi representing St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Nicholas Pooran and Ashmead Nedd representing the Guyana Amazon Warriors and Glenn Phillips and Ryan Persaud representing Jamaica Tallawahs. At the end of the competition, an individual champion is crowned as the first winner of the virtual Hero CPL.
“It is really exciting to be involved in this new competition and it didn't take long for my competitive instincts to kick in. One of the great things about the CPL is that they are always trying something new and it was great to be involved in the first franchise Esports League," Munro said.
This series will give Hero CPL fans and gamers alike the opportunity to get behind their favourite players and teams once again as they take on their rivals in this groundbreaking gaming format. They will be able to see and hear the passion these players have when they are competing, with a controller in their hands rather than a bat and ball.
The shows are hosted by Gautam Bhimani and Alex Jordan who bring you all the action during this hard-fought tournament.
This content series is being supported by Hero MotoCorp Limited (HMCL), the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, who have been the title sponsors of the Hero Caribbean Premier League since 2015. Hero has long been a key partner of marquee sporting events - including cricket, soccer, field hockey and golf - in India and across the globe and this partnership sees them also venturing into the ever-growing Esports arena.
Episode one will go live on 2 April 2021 (1 pm GMT, 6:30 pm IST, 9 am ECT) on Hero CPL’s YouTube and Facebook channels and the series will also be shown with selected broadcasters.
The Zouks batted first and Cottrell controlled himself with the new ball. After a chaotic first over the St Lucian team were on 16/2 after two dropped catches, a run-out and a catch taken in the deep.
The madcap start continued within the second over with wickets falling from the first, third and fifth balls from Alzarri Joseph to leave the Zouks 21/5.
Yet another dropped chance prevented in from being 21/6 when Daren Sammy chipped one to mid-wicket off the bowling of Sohail Tanvir. That drop seemed to be the wake-up call that the Zouks needed with Sammy finally finding the boundary with some regularity.
It was Sammy who took the Zouks to a total that they had a chance of defending with 42 (11) before he holed out looking for yet another six.
Rayad Emrit put an end to Sammy’s innings and nearly had a hattrick in the final over, a tricky chance at square leg put down by Chris Lynn to deny him.
The Zouks closed out their innings at 77/8 and the Patriots set off in pursuit with a bang. Evin Lewis ploughed into the bowling of Chemar Holder, taking 28 off the first over before being caught on the boundary going for another six.
At the other end, Chris Lynn was as explosive as his opening partner, taking 16 from five balls before he was dismissed by Obed McCoy. Lynn was soon followed by Denesh Ramdin who went for a golden duck but with the score at 45/3 and with just 33 more runs needed it looked like the Patriots were still favourites.
A stunning caught and bowled from Williams brought the Zouks back into the game with the Patriots now 55/5 with two overs to go. When that became 62/7 the Patriots were in real trouble with 15 needed off the last over.
Scott Kuggeleijn was given the responsibility of bowling the last and he didn’t let the Zouks down, conceding just 2 runs as his team won a fascinating match by 12 runs.
The Knight Riders won the toss and put the Patriots into bat and the first over of the final was full of drama with Khary Pierre picking up both Patriots’ openers with Evin Lewis and Chris Lynn dismissed going for big shots.
That left the Patriots 10-2 at the end of the first over, and that became 17-3 when Sodhi was caught in the ring off the bowling of Ali Khan.
Things didn’t improve when Nick Kelly was run out for a diamond duck to leave the Patriots innings in tatters at 18-4.
Sunil Narine kept the carnage coming when he bowled Ben Dunk for 6 and then did the same to Denesh Ramdin two balls later to leave the Patriots at 22-6.
Fawad Ahmad’s introduction into the attack only further cemented the Patriots’ woes as three more wickets fell, two of them soft run-outs as the batting team finished with 32 all out.
It was a small target but Munro was still feeling the pressure. The Patriots could have had Lendl Simmons dismissed in the first over but Chris Lynn put down a tough chance off Alzarri Joseph at mid-off.
At the other end, Narine found the boundary twice before Simmons was gone, dismissed by Imran Khan. By the end of the second over the Knight Riders were 18/1 with 16 needed from 18 balls.
Sodhi brought himself on to bowl and after a tricky start thanks to two wides, he came back well to get Narine bowled for 10.
That left the Knight Riders needing 11 from 12 and a powerful on-drive for four from Pollard seemed to swing things in his team's favour before he was yet another runout.
At the start of the last over five were needed and the Knight Riders seemed happy to get there in singles, but a wide and a no-ball from Sheldon Cottrell also helped.
It was Munro who hit the winning runs, cover driving for two to win the game by seven wickets with one ball to spare in a thrilling last-over finish to seal the first-ever CPL Esports title.
The Tridents won the toss and elected to bowl first with Pooran promoting himself up the order to open. It was a move that worked out immediately with 30 runs coming off the first over, 24 of them made by Pooran.
The early loss of Brandon King did not slow the Warriors down with Shimron Hetmyer joining Pooran in smashed the Tridents bowling around the Oval, although a good few of the boundaries came via the edge of the bat.
Pooran brought up his fifty from just 10 balls on his way to 63 (13) to set up a total of 133/4 from their five overs. Although Pooran was the star, he was well supported, first by Hetmyer and then by Ross Taylor.
It was a daunting target, and the Tridents were under pressure to get off to a good start. They got just that thanks to Johnson Charles who made 29 (8) but his departure brought with it a collapse with three wickets falling with the score on 43. That became 53-5 with three wickets in an over from Imran Tahir.
The Tridents never recovered from that cluster of wickets and as they searched for boundaries to get themselves back into the game the wickets continued to fall, with three more going to the spin of Chandrapaul Hemraj. The Tridents went from 43-1 to 73 all out as the Warriors won by a massive 60 runs.
