Keiron Pollard

Barbados Royals, captained by Rovman Powell, won the toss and opted to field first, and it seemed a good decision, as they initially had Trinbago Knight Riders at 69-2 inside 10 overs, before a fantastic 108-run third wicket stand between Martin Guptill and captain Kieron Pollard fired the Knight Riders to their daunting total of 194-5.

Guptill, whose last half-century in the CPL was back in 2018 against the Tallawahs, came good on the night with a 58-ball unbeaten century, while Pollard contributed 46 off 32 balls. Jason Holder was the pick of the Royals bowling with 2-39 from his four overs.

The Royals's reply was derailed by Andre Russell, who grabbed three quick wickets in the powerplay -Rahkeem Cornwall (zero), Kyle Mayers (zero) and Alick Athanaze (two) -while Sunil Narine accounted for Laurie Evans (five) and the host were unable to recover from the early demolition. They were eventually bowled out for 61 in 12.1 overs, succumbing to the largest defeat in CPL history.

Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil introduced himself to the tournament in grand fashion, picking up four for 14 in 3.1 overs. Russell had three for 13 from two overs and Akeil Hosein, two for 16 from four.

Earlier, Trinbago Knight Riders had a cautious start to their innings, with Guptill progressing steadily at one point on 20 runs from 20 balls. They lost the wickets of Mark Deyal (27) and Nicholas Pooran (six), but the complexion of the innings changed once Pollard joined Guptill in the middle.

The two swung the momentum of the game, with Guptill, opening up and paraded his six hitting skills, as he hammered nine maximums and a solitary four on his way to an even 100 which came up in the final over. It was the first century of the 2023 edition and it was firmly backed by Pollard's well-paced knock, which included four sixes and a solitary four. 

Despite losing Pollard, Russell (five) and Dwayne Bravo (zero) at the backend, the damage was already done, and it was left for the Knight Riders bowlers to mop up what was left of the Royals hopes on the night.

Barbados Royals will be back in action tomorrow night against reigning champions Jamaica Tallawahs at the same venue.

Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 194-5 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 61 all out (12.1 overs)

Neither side would have been proud of their efforts with the bat after Pollard won the toss and elected to bat. It was not long before they were in dire straits at 54-4 in the ninth over. Nicholas Pooran’s 38 and Tim David, the Player of the Match, who top scored with an unbeaten 48 got them past 100 and onto a final score of 155-8.

Corne Fry was the best of the Knight Riders’ bowlers with 2-10. Adam Zampa chipped in with 2-25 and Ali Khan 2-28.

With a relatively modest target of 156, Knight Riders would have been licking their chops in anticipation of an easy night. It was anything but as only Onmukt Chand was the only batter in double figures with his score of 26.

Andre Russell faced six balls for two runs and Narine faced four for his two as the Knight Riders collapsed to 50 all out in the 14^th over.

Ehsan Adil and Nosthush Kenjige each took 2-7 while Pollard, who made only five when New York was at the crease, took 2-10. Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada also took two wickets each.

The win elevated New York up to second in the table with one win and a loss while Los Angeles sits at the foot of the six-team table after consecutive losses.

Needless to say neither captain was particularly happy, Pollard only more slightly so.

“Happy with that (the end result). Not happy with the performance, though. Losing five wickets in the 10-11 overs is unacceptable from our team. We lost a lot of wickets in the first game as well and that can cost us,” said Pollard.

Responding to whether his openers were going too hard at the start, the former West Indies white-ball captain replied, “I do not think so. Some of the guys playing this level of cricket for the first time in franchise cricket. We need to give them time but it is about understanding what needs to be done. You cannot win the game in the first six overs