Cplt20

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, only Powell (33) and Nkrumah Bonner (41) managed to mount any kind of resistance as the Jamaica-based franchise was dismissed for 107.  In response, Lendl Simmons’ 54 unbeaten and 44 undefeated from Tion Webster saw the rampaging Knight Riders cruise home with a 9-wicket win.

Even in a low-scoring tournament, the Tallawhas struggled at the crease for most of the tournament.  The team scored under 120 on four occasions and over 150 on just three occasions.

“We have played a lot of inconsistent cricket.  The batters didn’t stand up all season. We ask that our international batters bat most of the overs and we just did not do that,” Powell said after the game.  On this occasion the Tallawahs found themselves four wickets down with only 24 runs on the board, coming out of the powerplay.

“The batters just didn’t come to the party. If we should look at it from a bowling perspective, I think our bowlers handled themselves very well.  The international spinners did very well for us in the middle overs and even when we started the pace bowlers were good.”

In Tuesday’s semi-final, the Zouks annihilated last season’s finalist Guyana Amazon Warriors in a crushing 10-wickets win.  The Warriors were shockingly bowled out for 55, the second-lowest total in CPL history, before the St Lucia-based franchise easily eclipsed the total.

The win was, however, even more, significant for the franchise who prior to this season had never made it to the playoffs let alone put themselves in a position to claim the title.  Facing the rampaging Trinbago Knight Riders, who are yet to lose a match this season, the St Lucia Zouks will find themselves in a similar position, that is playing the role of underdogs.   

“I told the guys. We didn’t come here to celebrate a semi-final.  Nobody gave us a chance.  From the start, I’ve said we have some effective guys.  We don’t have guys in the top five in the runs but we play as a team, especially when we are out there in the field,” Sammy said.

“We want to win.  Obviously TKR they are the team to beat.  We have said in our dressing room if you want to win the final you have to go through TKR.  It was a similar situation with the West Indies.  We said if you want to win, you have to beat India and we have our silent confidence in the dressing room.”

The tournament, being staged in a biosecure atmosphere in Trinidad and Tobago, due to the ongoing threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been widely panned for poor batting performances and low scoring.

Statistically, the average score per innings has fallen some 27 runs behind last season, which had an innings average of around 151, as compared to this season’s average of 122.  Perhaps even more instructive, is the fact that in completed matches this season teams have failed to reach double digits on eight occasions as opposed to just once last season.

A lot of speculation has surfaced regarding the reason for the diminished performances to date.  Among them is the fact that players have not played for months, due to the pandemic, and the condition of the pitch.  It has also been suggested that possible quarantine fatigue might be affecting some players who took part in the England series.  It has, however, also been suggested that a lot of it is simply down to irresponsible batting.  To a large extent, Harper concurs.

“I think that yes we expected to have some better cricket.  I think at times a lot of power play was put in and not enough brain play,” Harper told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“We are happy to have some cricket but yes we expected to have some better performances generally, particularly on the batting side of things,” he added.

“Ideally you would like to have pitches more conducive to stroke play from the get-go.  But the batsmen that have generally succeeded have adapted very well.  They have given themselves some time to get in and then capitalised later.  Some players have not gotten that memo as yet, some teams are still trying to score all the runs upfront, when all the runs are scored at the back end.”

The much-travelled 36-year-old T20 specialist made history earlier this week after capturing his 500^th wicket in the format while competing in the Caribbean Premier League for Trinbago Knight Riders.  As far as the CPL goes, the historic achievement marked his 100^th in the competition.

In 12-years, Bravo has played for numerous T20 franchises around the world, including playing a major role in two T20 World Cup titles for the West Indies.  Though not quite at the absolute top of his game these days, he remains an impact player for any team he represents.  With pressure often placed on players to retire, once they approach 40, Bravo has insisted he feels in great shape.

”Anyone who challenges or questions our age – I don’t think anyone of us, our performance has dipped or dropped because of our age,” Bravo recently told EspnCricinfo.

“As a matter of fact, most of us even perform just as good or even better. Age is just a number. Don’t judge a player by his age but judge him by his performance and his ability to continue to play.”

The likes of Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir, and Bravo have all defied age, performing brilliantly for their franchises all over the world.

The surfaces at the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) were at the centre of attention for most of the campaign.  Many argued that the condition of the surface played a significant part in scores that were much lower than usual.  In the end, the tournament was won by the home team, Trinbago Knight Riders who often did not seem to struggle on the surface.  In fact, the Knight Riders ended with a perfect record.  Also not finding fault with the surface, however, was the majority of the bowlers.

“I know we blame COVID for everything but this is not one of the things we should try to blame on COVID…we are making bowlers look 10 times as good as they are and especially in the spin department,” Roberts recently said on Antigua’s Good Morning Jojo Radio program.

The competition was held in unusual circumstances this season, with all the matches held in Trinidad and Tobago due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  Roberts, however, still believes the pitches, notwithstanding, could be better prepared.

“You knew about three or four months ago that you’re going to have this tournament in Trinidad, one country, but you have two different facilities that you are going to play at so arrangements should be made to get all the pitches up to a certain standard,” he added.

“When I say all, I mean the entire square, because you can’t just use two pitches for the number of matches you are going to be playing on them.”

 With all three previous games on this track won by the team batting first, Daren Sammy chose to set a target. Kimani Melius announced himself on Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) debut with a glorious Hero Maximum off Chandrapaul Hemraj but was caught at mid-off trying to repeat the trick off Imran Tahir.

 Tahir didn’t stop there, as he had Mark Deyal dropped first ball and caught second, both by Ashmead Nedd. Nedd started solidly with the ball, but Chase clubbed Keemo Paul for six to add some gloss to the Zouks’ Powerplay score of 37/2.

 Amazon Warriors captain Chris Green used fve bowlers in the first seven overs including two overs from himself, culminating in him yorking Andre Fletcher. Nedd got the deserved wicket of Najibullah Zadran, whose mishit saw him caught on the boundary for a duck.

 A lot now rested on Chase and Mohammad Nabi, and the Bajan took three boundaries off Odean Smith’s first over. The two were cautious initially against the spinners, and the Zouks were a middling 67/4 at halfway.

 Paul and Smith conceded just one boundary each, and Nedd finished his spell beautifully. Nabi briefly broke free with an enormous Hero Maximum and a powerful four off Green, but he was beaten in the flight by Tahir and gave the skipper a straightforward catch.

 Chase brought up his second T20 fifty off 40 balls, and in his first game for the Zouks, Javelle Glenn got off the mark with a lovely cover-drive. But Paul was dismissed for just two, and with four overs to go, the Zouks needed an acceleration. Chase provided it, launching Tahir straight and swinging Paul through square leg, and Glenn settled himself with a boundary of his own.

 Green gave Smith the last over, and his pace proved effective as Glenn and Chase fell in consecutive balls. There was to be no hat-trick, but the over was reward for the bowler and captain’s persistence, and the Zouks’ total seemed below-par.

 Their bowling however was anything but. Nabi bowled a superb first over, and two Scott Kuggeleijn short balls saw King caught behind for 1 and Shimron Hetmyer top-edging to square leg for 4 to leave the Amazon Warriors two down in the second over.

 The Amazon Warriors predicament got even worse when Ross Taylor top-edged a reverse paddle-sweep off the back of the bat into his own helmet and was caught, giving Nabi a first wicket. Even a Hemraj six off Chase couldn’t put much gloss on a Powerplay of 19/3.

 Pooran was lucky to pick up four off a Kesrick Williams short ball, but there was nothing lucky about the authoritative pull for six that followed. Holder was wayward, with wides, a no-ball, and a deft steer through third man, and a 15 run overtook the Amazon Warriors to 59/3 at halfway.

 Hemraj struggled for timing throughout, and eventually spooned a leading-edge off Williams, which was well caught by Chase. Sammy showed faith in Holder, who recovered after being crashed for four by the promoted Paul, but two boundaries in a 12 run over from Pooran put a slight dent in Nabi’s still excellent figures.

 The Zouks got sloppy in the next over, as an overthrow brought up Pooran’s 50 off 32 balls  and Sammy dropped a very simple catch. Pooran then top-edged over the keeper’s head for four to bring the required rate under nine.

 Chase ensured Pooran couldn’t find a boundary, but the Amazon Warriors’ number five made up for that off Williams to take his team into the last four overs needing 39. Paul clobbered a Hero Maximum off Chase’s last ball and brought up the 50 partnership, but he picked out Nabi at deep midwicket in the next over.

 Sherfane Rutherford blasted his second ball for six to dent Kuggeleijn’s figures. The equation seemed to have swung dramatically in the Zouks favour when Pooran bottom-edged a Williams slower ball onto his stumps, but the Warriors burgled 8 off the last four balls of the 19th including a botched run-out to leave Rutherford on strike and 13 to win off the last over, to be bowled by Holder.

 Holder responded magnificently. He flattened Rutherford’s off-stump with a pinpoint yorker, then he had captain Green caught behind, and a bowler who’d gone for 30 off his first 3 overs sealed the win with 2/2, showing the world why West Indian cricket is so excited about him and giving the Zouks a third straight win ahead of the move to Port-of-Spain.

On Wednesday, the Knight Riders added the St Lucia Zouks to their growing list of victims, following a 6 wicket D/L win in the top of the table clash.  On a historic day for one of the team’s top bowlers, Dwayne Bravo, the Tridents successfully chased down the Zouks’ rain-hampered 111 for 6.

With wins over the Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs, and Guyana Amazon Warriors the Knights Riders have shown tremendous ability with both bat and ball.

“When you look at our squad, the core of the team.  A couple of guys missed out and we got a couple to come in.  But we have guys that want to perform and want that opportunity, the guys that are playing are very hungry,” Pollard said, following the game.

“Each and every person has an idea of what their role is.  There is a lot clarity that is going on in the dressing room, so when guys get their opportunity, they know exactly what they need to do,” he added.

 “Once we put those pieces of the puzzle together and everyone knows their strengths, more often than not if we play a proper game we are going to come out on top. Our strength is our teamwork and communication."

The decision not to bowl Cornwall, who recently came back from representing the West Indies in England, raised a few eyebrows.  But, the spinner has not been among the tournaments leading wicket-takers for several seasons.  In addition, Zouks captain Darren Sammy had a battery of spin bowlers at his disposal, which included Roston Chase, who took more wickets than Cornwall in England.

In the end, after making it to their first CPL final, as heavy underdogs, the Zouks fell short to the Trinbago Knight Riders.  Cornwall has insisted he was fit and ready to perform but his omission from the line-up was the captain’s choice.

“It was basically the captain’s decision; maybe it was his gut feeling to go for the other bowlers.  He thought he didn’t need me at that time so he went for especially his depth bowlers,” Cornwall recently told the Antigua Observer.

"The pitch was a spin bowlers pitch and I am always ready for whenever he calls on me and if he doesn’t then it is the case but I’m always set and ready if I am called upon,” he added.

Barbados Royals won the toss and captain Jason Holder chose to bat first, but his side was undone firstly by spin, as Imran Tahir took three early wickets, before a series of runouts and late wickets from Romario Shepherd restricted them to 130 all out.

The Warriors started off briskly, Hemraj dominating with the bat, putting on an opening partnership of 103 runs alongside Brandon King, before King fell to Nyeem Young. Shoaib Malik then came in to consolidate while Hemraj went in search of his century, reaching it with his fifth maximum of the day and sparking wild celebrations.

Barbados Royals had begun slowly as Shai Hope and Johnson Charles tried to build a platform, but veteran spinner Tahir sent the side into disarray with three quick wickets. Gudakesh Motie supported with some economical bowling, while Shepherd used pace to get the crucial wickets of Azam Khan and Holder. There were also three run-outs in the innings.

Amazon Warriors had a comfortable chase in the end, winning with over five overs to spare as Hemraj took the onus to pile on the runs, his partner King only facing six balls in the Powerplay.  Barbados Royal’s bowling attack had no answers for Hemraj; it was a quickfire innings; his maiden T20 century coming off 56 balls.

The win will no doubt be a confidence booster for the Amazon Warriors, who now have six points in the Hero CPL league standings. Barbados Royals remain bottom of the standings after this defeat.

The tournament took place between 18 August and 10 September 2020, and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic it was played behind closed doors. Because of this, the use of social media to keep fans engaged was more important than ever.  CPL achieved great results, with over one million new followers added and over 300 million social media video views achieved during the tournament period alone.

From the point that the lockdowns started earlier in 2020 Hero CPL worked tirelessly to keep fans entertained. From broadcasting archive matches with new commentary from the likes of Tom Moody and Ian Bishop, to arranging for the player draft to be done remotely with a world-class punditry panel, keeping fans entertained and engaged was at the centre of the tournament’s thinking.

During the tournament itself, live CPL games were broadcast into 77 countries on Facebook and YouTube as well as sending out highlights clips worldwide. The tournament also worked with broadcast partners Sunset+Vine to create fun and engaging content so fans could learn what it was like inside the tournament’s bio-secure bubble.  Hero CPL also launched the “Life Stories” films on the tournament’s social media channels. These beautifully made films focused on the lives of up and coming Caribbean cricketers and won plaudits from around the world.

Hero CPL has also started sharing content on a number of new social media channels such as TikTok, Twitch, Triller and Instagram Reels.

Cornwall smashed sixes off both Chris Green and Kevin Sinclair, but Andre Fletcher fell early, leading-edging Sinclair to short third man. Naveen-ul-Haq started with a wicket-maiden, Leniko Boucher pulling straight to captain Green at mid-on. Imran Tahir also started with a maiden, leaving the Zouks 15 for 2 after four overs.

Cornwall hit two fours off Naveen, driving him over his head then pulling him, but when the opener mistimed a Romario Shepherd cutter Naveen pulled off an excellent catch diving forward. Cornwall had hit 20 in four shots, but the Zouks only scored off six other deliveries to end the Powerplay at 27 for 3.

Green raced through an over for just two, and Tahir was unlucky not to get a wicket in an over that yielded only four. Najibullah Zadran attempted to reverse sweep Green to little effect, and Sinclair was unlucky a Najibullah top-edge fell safely. Najibullah at last middled one, pulling Sinclair hard for a Hero Maximum, and at halfway the Zouks were 47 for 3.

Najibullah and Kavem Hodge managed to hustle eight off Green’s last over, but Hodge soon got stuck which put pressure on Najibullah, who tried to attack Tahir but under-edged a googly to keeper Nicholas Pooran.

Keemo Paul bookended his first over with wickets, starting with Hodge under-edging through to Pooran and ending with Zouks captain Daren Sammy falling LBW for another low score. At 59 for 6 off 13, the Zouks were in need of a rescue mission.

Mohammad Nabi and Javelle Glen survived Tahir’s last over, Paul’s second over like his first went for just two, and while Nabi clubbed Shepherd for four through cover that was the first boundary in 34 balls. Entering the last four overs, the Zouks were 72 for 6.

Nabi steered Naveen past point for four, but Naveen foxed him with a pair of slower balls to put the onus on Nabi to attack. Nabi mistimed his drive and holed out to Sinclair at deep cover. Glenn got his first boundaries, both edged past short third man off Paul, as the Zouks finally managed a double-figure over to reach 89 for 7 off 18.

Naveen dropped short and was pulled for four to go for 11 off the last over of an otherwise excellent spell, and Glenn smoked a cover drive in the last over. But Paul recovered well to ensure that was the only boundary off the 20th, and the Zouks total felt some way under par.

Scott Kuggeleijn sprayed wides both sides of the wicket in a nine-ball first over that somehow only went for five. The Amazon Warriors’ intention to attack the Powerplay was clear, as Chandrapaul Hemraj started Nabi’s first over by smashing a Hero Maximum and King closed it by square driving for four.

Brandon King was bowled attempting a ramp over fine leg, but the aggression continued with Hetmyer slashing for four. Hemraj ruined a potential Nabi maiden with a Hero Maximum over long-off, and Hetmyer dismissed a Kuggeleijn long-hop through point for four. Cornwall closed the Powerplay tidily, but after six overs the Warriors were comfortable at 38 for 1.

Hemraj clipped Kesrick Williams fine for four to take the required run rate below five an over. Hetmyer seized on Cornwall’s first poor ball, hammering a Hero Maximum over midwicket, and the Amazon Warriors ticked along to 55 for 1 off eight overs but soon after Hemraj was bowled by Nabi off both pads.

Hetmyer attacked Chemar Holder mercilessly, pulling his first two balls for Hero Maximums and following up with three fours in a row - a majestic cover drive on the up, a rasping square cut and a punch over mid-off - to rocket the Warriors to 82 for 2 and himself to 46 after 10 overs. A 24 run over had reduced an already simple chase to a stroll.

Nabi finished his spell tidily, but while Sammy showed faith in Holder, Pooran continued where Hetmyer had left off with a glorious check-driven four. Hetmyer followed suit to bring up a third fifty of Hero CPL 2020 off just 33 balls, and after 12 overs the Amazon Warriors were 94 for 2 and needed just 16 to win.

Pooran walloped Glen through midwicket for four but fell next ball reverse-slapping to cover where Boucher took a good low catch. The winning moment was a bye, but the job had been done by the bowlers and Hetymer, and with three straight wins the Amazon Warriors look to be gathering steam.

The Zouks had already qualified for the semis, but the top order will need to step up if they are to win Hero CPL for the first time. Such was the margin of victory that the Amazon Warriors jumped into second place, and who knows how important that could be come the semi-finals.

The competition has so far been plagued by a number of low scoring total’s, and batsmen seemingly unable to come to grips what has so far proven to be a surface that favours bowlers.  There has so far been very little issue for Williams and the Zouks, though, as they have racked up five wins and currently occupying the third spot.

“I don’t have a problem with the pitches, to be honest.  These wickets, I love these wickets, for me, they show how skillful you are as a bowler.  If you are just running in and bowling fast and trying to hit the deck, then you are going to go for runs,” Williams told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“If you look at the guys that are getting wickets, they have skill.  T20 is a batter’s game, everyone wants to see balls hit wickets.  At the end of the day, these wickets are not suitable for T20 cricket but we are professionals and we have to learn to adjust.  If we can’t adjust as professionals it makes no sense to play cricket because you will have times like this,” he added.

Williams and the Zouks have certainly adjusted.  The team’s five wins and three losses have put them in a place-off spot for the first time in the franchise’s history.

The CPL season was characterized by a spate of low scores, with many fingers pointing towards an unsatisfactory surface for T20 batsman to ply their trade. In fact, the average score per innings score fell around 20 runs from last season’s average of around 151, compared to this season’s average of 122.

Pollard's Knight Riders have hardly been among those struggling to find runs and his blistering 28 balls 72 against the Barbados Tridents, was seemingly made on a different surface than the one others had struggled with.

“For me throughout the tournament, if I were to be a little critical, the pitches weren’t up to standard for batting. But what I have seen as well is the guys have not mentally changed their game to suit the conditions,” Pollard said at a pre-game press conference.

“That is something that is not only harming is in CPL but harming us in international cricket as well.  We can’t complain about the pitches all the time and we are not changing as individuals,” he added.

“I didn’t see the mental fortitude of the batmen throughout the tournament in the other teams. I all honestly wit TKR we have tried to adjust to the situation.”

After a three-month hiatus, cricket returned to the international stage earlier this month with the England versus the West Indies series, in England.  As the world continues its battle to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the series took place under extraordinary circumstances.

The Test series was played without fans and the players, along with everyone involved in it, were kept separate from the public, in a biosphere of sorts.  With considerably fewer resources than the England Cricket Board (ECB), the CPL has come up with its own version of a bubble in order to stage the tournament, but there are marked differences.

“The one in England was much different.  You could move around freely.  You could socialise a bit more with your teammates in England, but the one in Trinidad you cannot do that,”  St Lucia Zouks off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“When you first come to Trinidad you in the room for 7 days, isolated, and can’t come out.  Whereas as in England once you do the test and you are negative you are free to move about the facilities, you just can’t leave,” he added.

His St Lucia Zouks teammate, pace bowler Kesrick Williams, also shed more light on the specific conditions.

“It’s not the norm but at the end of the day it’s something we work with given the conditions in the world right now, with COVID-19…it’s not the best but we are working with it,” he added.

“When somebody is always telling you, you can’t do something, it's different than when you can freely do it.  For me, I’m usually in my room, but at the end of the day when someone is telling you, you have to wear a mask there, you have to wear a mask here, times for the food, times for gym and stuff like that and then the sanitizing and all that, it just leaves you feeling like you are in prison.  I don’t have a problem with it, but it's something we are not accustomed to.”

In Tuesday’s semi-final, the unbeaten Tridents continued their sensational run after brushing aside the Jamaica Tallawahs in a nine-wicket win.  The victory marked a 10^th in a row for the Tridents and just one more will see the team create history by being the first to claim the trophy without losing a match.

The Knights Riders would, however, do well to learn from history’s lessons.  Just one season ago the Guyana Amazon Warriors, who have never lifted the title, experienced unthinkable heartbreak after losing to the Barbados Tridents in the final.  Pollard will be eager to avoid a similar fate and on home soil no less.

“We have come here and played fantastic cricket throughout the tournament so we need to have that cherry on top of it,” Pollard said following the match.

“I know the guys.  I watch the faces of the guys in the dressing room, I don’t see overconfidence.  You are seeing guys looking level, wanting to come out, and wanting to perform each and every time.  We have that hunger for one more time, hopefully we can go all the way.  If we do that it will be unprecedented.”

Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard had enough faith in his opening bowlers to start with himself at short leg, and Akeal Hosein repaid that faith by bowling Jermaine Blackwood. The Tallawahs sprung a surprise sending Mujeeb Ur Rahman in at number three, who just about played out a wicket-maiden.

The Tallawahs were rocked further when Glenn Phillips cut Khary Pierre to Ali Khan. Nkrumah Bonner finally hit the game’s first boundary, easing Hosein through cover, but the Mujeeb experiment failed as he edged a reverse sweep onto his pad and was caught at slip, and the Tallawahs had slumped to 10 for 3 off three overs.

Five wides from Pierre and a straight four by Bonner more than doubled the Tallawahs tally, but while Asif Ali got off the mark with a four-over Hosein’s head, he fell next ball cutting to Pollard at point. Pollard immediately went back into short leg and kept himself there for the returning Sunil Narine who went for just three to close out a dominant Powerplay for the Knight Riders, after which the Tallawahs were reeling at 28 for 4.

Bonner continued to resist - he cut Fawad Ahmed powerfully for four, a misfield gave him another off Narine to take him to 30, and he pulled Fawad to take the Tallawahs past 50. Pierre returned with a tight over that went for just three, and at the 10 over mark, the Tallawahs were 55 for 4.

Hosein bowled out with an over of just five, and Fawad ended Bonner’s resistance with a quick googly. That finally brought Andre Russell to the crease, but Narine put an end to his innings before it got going. Russell was beaten in the flight, the ball looped to DJ Bravo at slip and the umpire adjudged it came off bat and pad. The Tallawahs had lost their biggest weapon and were 68 for 6 in the 14th.

Three more boundary-less overs came and went. Rovman Powell had now faced 32 balls for his 26 runs, Carlos Brathwaite had managed only one off his 10 balls, and something had to give off Pierre’s last over. Powell hit one Hero Maximum, the first of the innings, but picked out Pollard at deep mid-off trying to repeat the shot next ball. Even with that six, he finished under a run a ball, and the Tallawahs were 92 for 7 off 18.

Brathwaite was lucky not to be run out first ball of the 19th, bowled by DJ Bravo whose three overs didn’t contain a single boundary. Ali Khan got the unusual job of bowling only the 20th over, and while Brathwaite finished the innings with a Hero Maximum that was only the third boundary in the last 11 overs of the innings.

Lendl Simmons steered then pulled Fidel Edwards for consecutive fours to end the first over, but Narine wasn’t able to provide his usual powerful start, bowled by Mujeeb’s arm ball. Powell followed Pollard’s aggressive lead by putting himself at short leg, but Tion Webster was not intimidated, slapping Veerasammy Permaul through cover then slicing him for four to ruin a tight start to the over. After three overs, the Knight Riders were 23/1.

Webster was confident enough to cut Mujeeb’s googly for four, and with wickets, a must Powell for the first time in Hero CPL 2020 went to Sandeep Lamichhane in the Powerplay. Simmons paddled him for four first ball and then pulled Mujeeb to the fence, and the Knight Riders closed the Powerplay at 42/1. The required run rate was already under five an over.

Simmons marred a good over from Lamichhane with a slog-swept Hero Maximum, bringing up the Knight Riders’ 50. Simmons and Webster were able to work Lamichhane around as no-one had all tournament, and though Permaul’s second went for just two and his third was a maiden, at halfway the Knight Riders were comfortable at 61/1, needing just 47 more to win.

Russell was called on to bowl, but Simmons pulled him for a Hero Maximum and, when Russell bowled a second short ball which was called a no-ball, helicoptered the free hit for four. Permaul bowled out with another economical over, but Simmons again pulled Russell for six to take 10 off the 13th over. The Knight Riders were now 90/1 and needed just 18 more.

Webster guided Lamichhane through cover for four to end the Nepali’s only wicketless spell of an excellent tournament, and Simmons became the leading 50-maker in the tournament’s history, overtaking Chris Gayle with a cover drive for four off Brathwaite, and Webster finished the job that same over.

Simmons needs just three more runs in Thursday’s final to overtake Gayle as Hero CPL’s all-time leading scorer. Much more importantly though, the Knight Riders have a chance to do what last year’s Guyana Amazon Warriors could not, and in doing so win a fourth Hero CPL title. The victors in the second semi will have a mighty task to deny them.

Trinbago Knight Riders 111/1 (Simmons 54*, Webster 44*; Mujeeb 1/18) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 107/7 (Bonner 41, Powell 33; Hosein 3/14, Pierre 2/29, Narine 1/13, Fawad 1/29) by 9 wickets

Choosing to bowl, the Tridents started well - the first boundary didn’t come until the third over, and Narine didn’t get off the mark until the fifth. Simmons hit the next ball for a Hero Maximum and then clubbed Jason Holder to mid-on. It took Colin Munro to kickstart the innings, taking 18 off Kyle Mayers, including a glorious flick over mid-on for six, and the Knight Riders ended the Powerplay at 45 for 1.

Ashley Nurse put the pressure back on, but Munro counter-attacked against Rashid Khan, clobbering a sweep into the stands. Narine, at the other end, should have fallen to Nurse on 6 but was dropped by Shai Hope. The drop was not costly, however, as Reifer dramatically splattered Narine’s stumps to end a stuttering inning.

At the drinks break, the Knight Riders were a subdued 63 for 2. Munro brought up 50 off just 29 balls, then fell to a fantastic Rashid catch to give Nurse a deserved wicket off the last ball of his spell. But that was as good as it got for the Tridents with the ball.

Rashid lost his line to the left-handed Bravo, going for 12 including a set of five wides. Hayden Walsh Jr started with two full tosses, and while Pollard was almost bowled by the first one, he dismissed the second for a Hero Maximum. Bravo punished Rashid for going too full with a slog-swept six.

Mitchell Santner couldn’t contain Bravo, who clubbed 10 off the first two balls of the over, or Pollard, who hit an extraordinary one-handed Hero Maximum over the sightscreen. Pollard repeated the trick to end a Reifer over that started with Bravo hammering a full toss for six, and, suddenly the Knight Riders were 155 for 3 off 18.

Holder proved expensive in the 19th, with 3 wides punctuating Pollard hammering a Hero Maximum and Bravo essaying a classy lofted drive. In the 20th, Bravo found and then cleared the midwicket fence to take himself to 50, and the Knight Riders to an imposing total. The last four overs went at a bruising 17.25 an over, and the Tridents were left wondering if they’d got their bowling strategies right.

The Tridents had to go hard and Johnson Charles did exactly that, targeting Jayden Seales to the tune of 20 runs to start the chase in overdrive. It was a measure of how concerned Pollard was that he went to DJ Bravo in the Powerplay.

It was a dramatic over - brother Darren dropped Charles off the first ball, ensuring the wait for a 500th T20 wicket for DJ went on, and the Tridents opener rubbed it in with two boundaries. Hope was very much the support act, ending the Powerplay at 9 off 11 to Charles’ 46 off 25. Remarkably, those 46 came entirely between long leg and midwicket.

But Narine, Ali Khan, and Fawad Ahmed slowed scoring significantly, and the pressure told as Charles lost his off-stump to Fawad just after reaching his 50. Corey Anderson’s horror start to Hero CPL 2020 continued as he was run out by Seales for 2, and after a promising start, the Tridents were falling away.
Bravo pulled off a good low catch to dismiss Mayers off Khary Pierre. Hope picked up a four off Pierre and a massive Hero Maximum off Fawad, but the leg spinner responded well to limit the damage and send the rate above 12.

Lewis played a starring role when he slammed 89 from just 60 balls but fell just short leading the team home when he fell in the middle of the 18^th over.  Nonetheless, Ben Dunk was able to take the team home with an expedient 22 from 11, including two big sixes off Nyeem Young when the team needed 13 runs off the last over to win.  In their turn at the crease the Tridents made 151 for 7.

“We needed this win and we went out there and backed our skills.  I got a good start for the team it’s bad luck I didn’t carry it down to the end but I’m still thankful for it and thankful for the victory,” Lewis said following the match.

“They were very important, we had a shaky start, we lost our first three games.  Hopefully this victory will give us some momentum for the rest of the competition,” he added.

Prior to the match, the Patriots found themselves on the losing end against the Tridents, St Lucia Zouks and Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The wily medium-pacer claimed the scalp of St Lucia Zouks opener Rahkeem Cornwall to achieve the feat.  Incidentally, the wicket also happened to be his 100th in the Caribbean Premier League, also making him the first man to that mark.

Congratulations from the player poured in front far and wide, fittingly at the ground itself, his good friend and captain Kieron Pollard numbered among them.  With nine dismissals, Pollard his been the player most dismissed by Bravo.

“He has gone where no man has gone before in T20 cricket.  When T20 cricket started every thought it was going to be a joke but when you look around the world now and see each and every cricketer wanting to play T20 and the leagues.  To be at the top of the tree with 500 is a tremendous achievement,” Bravo said.

“It’s good, sometimes you have to help your friends,” Pollard joked regarding being the batsman most dismissed by Bravo.

“He’s a fierce competitor when he comes up against me, I want to go after him, he wants to get my wicket.  Nine times, I didn’t realise it was so many. But well done to him.  No matter what the situation is he keeps coming. He goes for runs but he keeps coming, that is the mettle of the guy.  I think a lot of you bowlers, especially based on the difficult times that he bowls, to take a page out of his book.”

Promoted to open, Nkrumah Bonner steered Sheldon Cottrell for four and drove Ish Sodhi for the game’s first Hero Maximum, but in trying to pick up a second off Imran Khan he chipped to Cottrell at long-on. The Tallwahs reached the Powerplay at 28 for 1.

Jermaine Blackwood got off the mark with a Hero Maximum off Sodhi, but Imran continued to be hard to hit. Patriots captain Rayad Emrit brought himself on, going for seven, and at halfway the Tallawahs were 53 for 1.

The first ball after the break, Blackwood carved Cottrell for four. Phillips ended that over with his first four off his 24th ball, but the Tallawahs lost Blackwood when he picked out Dunk at long-off off Emrit.

Phillips finally hit his first Hero Maximum off his 28th ball, lofting Jon-Russ Jaggesar over long-on, but should have fallen two balls later, Nick Kelly spilling a simple chance. Imran tightened the screw, finishing his miserly spell (the most economical completed spell of Hero CPL 2020) with a maiden to Phillips who was now 28 off 36 balls. After 14 overs, the Tallawahs were 79 for 2.

Asif Ali tried to pick up the pace, lofting the last ball of Jaggesar’s spell for a Hero Maximum but fell in the next over, Sodhi’s last, trying to repeat the trick. Evin Lewis must get credit for a well-judged catch on the midwicket boundary.

Phillips, at last, clicked, passing a run a ball off his 46th delivery and reaching 50 off his 47th with three Hero Maximums off Cottrell. While he managed another Hero Maximum off Emrit, the Patriots captain dismissed Rovman Powell and Carlos Brathwaite in quick succession and the Tallawahs reached 18 overs at 126 for 5.

Cottrell started the 19th over with three full tosses, the first a beamer, but finished by bowling the struggling Chadwick Walton. Phillips kept going to the end, levering a low full toss over long-on for a sixth Hero Maximum and whipping a four through square leg. Phillips’ acceleration was stark - he scored 38 off his first 44 balls and 41 off his last 17, and at the end, he was visibly drained, so much so Walton took over as wicket-keeper.

The Patriots too changed their openers, a groin injury to Lewis meaning Kieran Powell came up the order. While Chris Lynn opened his account with a Hero Maximum off Fidel Edwards, Edwards got revenge next ball with a late outswinger that hit middle stump. 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Veerasammy Permaul bowled two overs apiece and conceded just one boundary, with Kieran Powell dropped by Asif off Mujeeb. The new opener cashed in with a lovely lofted four off Edwards. The Patriots closed the first six at 39 for 1. 

The Patriots stumbled further when Ramdin edged a cut to keeper Walton off Permaul. Ben Dunk was bowled fourth ball by Brathwaite as part of a wicket-maiden, and Kieran Powell in trying to break free off Permaul gave Walton a stumping with time to spare. Between the Powerplay and the drinks break, the Patriots faced 20 balls and lost 3 for 6.

That stumping was Walton’s last act behind the stumps, as a recovered Phillips resumed his duties after drinks. After 10 overs, the Patriots were becalmed at 47for 4 with Lewis injured, and with two overs of Mujeeb and four overs of Sandeep Lamichhane still to come.

Emrit got his team their first boundary in 30 balls, but he fell two balls later leading-edging Brathwaite to point. Lewis could be delayed no longer, which in turn brought Lamichhane into the attack. Kelly swept for four, but still, the over went for just six, and after 13 overs the required run rate had climbed to 11 an over.

Rovman Powell brought back Mujeeb who went for just four. Lewis and Kelly managed a brief flurry of boundaries off Lamichhane and Edwards, but Edwards had the last laugh as Kelly dragged a pull onto his own stumps.

The Tallawahs’ elite spinners would be denied no longer. Lamichhane’s seam-up variation saw the valiant Lewis hole out to long-on, Mujeeb grabbed a simple caught and bowled off Cottrell, and Lamichhane bowled Sodhi with a googly. The game was already lost when the final wicket fell, Brathwaite picking up a third as some compensation for his duck today and his mauling by the Tridents’ Kyle Mayers on Wednesday.

Winning without the injured Andre Russell, who is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s game against the Trinbago Knight Riders, will please the Tallawahs camp no end, but the struggles continue for the Patriots who have left themselves with a lot to do in the last group matches of Hero CPL 2020.