Sunil Narine bowled the Super Over for the Knight Riders and conceded just six runs. It was left to Romario Shepherd to bowl the Amazon Warriors' Super Over and he conceded just four runs to win the game for his team.
Both teams finished on exactly 138-9 from their 20 overs with neither side consistently dominating with the bat. Knight Riders were favourites with five overs to go but some big hits from Nicholas Pooran and Shepherd tied up the game.
The Amazon Warriors got off to the perfect start with Lendl Simmons bowled by Chandrapaul Hemraj off the second ball of the innings. With two further TKR wickets inside the PowerPlay, they would have been happier of the two teams after six overs, but it could have been even better. Two chances went down which prevented them from having even more success.
A partnership of 39 between Sunil Narine and Tion Webster looked promising before Narine was caught at mid-on attempting to hit over the top of the infield. When Webster was gone seven runs later it was left to Colin Munro and Tim Seifert to rebuild.
Munro top-scored with 32 from 28 balls before he was dismissed by Imran Tahir when he caught a leading edge that was caught in the covers.
A steady flow of TKR wickets prevented them from really getting going but a sprightly 21 from nine balls from Isuru Udana took them to 138-9.
The Amazon Warriors chase also started with early wickets with Ravi Rampaul dismissing Hemraj and Odean Smith from successive balls to leave them 7-2 in the second over.
Shimron Hetmyer and Hafeez looked to rebuild but they were tied down by the TKR spinners. Hafeez was dismissed by Khary Pierre for 16 from 30 balls to leave the Amazon Warriors needing 100 runs from nine overs.
Pooran was dismissed by a stunning one-handed grab by Akeal Hosein before Shepherd took the game deep with the bat. Amazon Warriors squeezed out the tie off the last ball before they claimed a famous win in the Super Over.
Guyana Amazon Warriors 138-9 (Hetmyer 27, Pooran 27; Rampaul 4-29, S Narine 2-9) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 138-9 (Munro 32, Narine 21, Udana 21; Hafeez 3-18, Shepherd 3-24) by Super Over
The 37-year old’s call up to the squad has been among the most controversial made by the Caribbean team, with some fans insisting the West Indies should have focused on selecting younger talent. Rampaul’s effective showing the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), however, convinced selectors that he could be an asset for a team looking to successfully defend its title.
In 10 matches, Rampaul was the tournament’s leading scorer with 19 wickets at an economy rate of 7.96 and a best of 4 for 29. The bowler is satisfied that the work put in merited selection to the team’s T20 World Cup squad.
“In every team, you want to play for, you have to put a performance out there and I know I needed to work hard and show the selectors I could still take wickets and compete at a level. I needed to put the performance out there and show them I could take wickets at the CPL stage,” Rampaul told members of the media on Saturday.
Despite the criticism aimed towards the age of some members of the squad, Rampaul believes the experience of the team will be critical in the bid to retain the trophy.
“Going into big World Cup games you need experience and the team that was selected is a lot of experienced guys and a lot of young guys as well, guys that play around the world in different conditions. We know games come quick and fast and the experienced guys will know how to manage themselves.”
The West Indies will bow into action with a match against England on October 23rd.
The Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field first and that decision appeared to have backfired when Johnson Charles’ half-century got the Kings off to a lightning start.
Although the Knight Riders pegged the Kings back in the middle overs a devastating 33 off 14 balls from David Wiese ensured the Knight Riders were set a very difficult 148 to win.
The Knight Riders’ task became even more difficult when they lost three early wickets inside the PowerPlay including that of Nicholas Pooran for a duck.
They never really recovered from that and left themselves too much ground to make up in the back end resulting in the narrow defeat.
The Kings had got off to a flier in the PowerPlay with the tournament’s top scorer Charles hitting another barnstorming fifty. His partnership with Niroshan Dickwella added 59 runs before Ravi Rampaul carried on his good form by removing the latter.
When Rampaul removed the set Charles it led to a squeeze on the Kings scorecard as 82-3 quickly became 117-5.
However, David Wiese was able to produce an excellent counter-attacking innings at the death to help the Kings post a challenging 147.
The Knight Riders' response saw their top order fail again as Leonardo Julien, Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran all fell inside the powerplay to Roston Chase.
That left the middle and lower order too much to do and despite a late salvo by Andre Russell in the final over of the game, it was too little too late.
The two sides swap places in the table following the results and both will now head to Guyana with all to play for in the race for the playoffs.
Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 147-6 (Charles 54, Wiese 33; Rampaul 2-10, Narine 2-31) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 146-6 (Seifert 44, Pollard 34; Chase 3-17, Joseph 2-26) by 1 run.
Pollard arrived at the crease with the West Indies on 140 for three from 15.5 overs; the powerfully built Trinidadian blasted three fours and three sixes while mounting a partnership of 65 with Chris Gayle who scored an unbeaten 75 from just 41 balls.
Pollard’s 38 was scored off just 15 balls, outscoring Gayle along the way as the West Indies closed on 205 for 4, Pollard getting out off the last ball of the innings.
His strike rate, an astonishing 253.3 overshadowed Gayle’s incredible 182.92 and proved to be critical to the West Indies’ a match-winning total.
However, he was not done. Bowling his medium-pacer deliveries Pollard took 2 for 6, and along with compatriots Ravi Rampaul 3 for 16, Sunil Narine 2 for 17 and Samuel Badree 2 for 27 combined to skittle Australia out for 131 to hand the West Indies victory by 74 runs.
“Coming up against Australia in a World Cup T20 semi-final you don’t need more motivation than that,” Pollard recalled.
“Chris Gayle was batting brilliantly and my job was just to finish and I certainly did that.
“Overall, these are the knockout games I’ve always prided myself in standing up for the teams I’ve played with. That semi-final was one of the early ones that helped me develop that confidence to perform in such matches, all over the world in 501 games I’ve played.”
Pollard lists his 63 against New Zealand that same year against New Zealand as among his most memorable.
“It was one of those tours where you get an opportunity to play in Florida and just enjoy the moment from both a cricket and personal perspective where players can mix game preparation with shopping and other stuff in a popular tourist destination.
“I recall the conditions were really hot walking out with Gayle going guns blazing. The first ball I faced was hit for six and sometimes all you need is that positive feeling to get your innings going perfectly, with everything hitting the middle of the bat and balls hitting the gaps frequently.”
The Red Force bowled out the home side for 129 and then motored to 130-1 off 24.5 overs. It was their fourth win and earned them a spot in the semi-finals.
Sunil Narine, playing his 100th List A match, was brilliant as he took 3-36 from his 10 overs. One of his wickets came from a perfectly flighted off-break which turned a long way and rattled the stumps of Terrence Warde.
However, fast bowler Ravi Rampaul was named the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match for his excellent new-ball spell and took 3-17 from seven overs.
The top score for the Hurricanes came from opener Kieran Powell (29), while Hayden WalshJjr chipped in with 26.
The Red Force them reached the target with little bother as Kjorn Ottley and Jason Mohammed shared an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 93. Ottley made 47 not out with six fours and a six over cover, while Mohammed remained unbeaten on 40 off 55 balls with four boundaries.
Evin Lewis gave the innings a flying start as he smashed two sixes and three fours in 28 off 27 balls, but fell, caught at point off pacer Quinton Boatswain.
Rampaul was quite pleased with his contribution and the outcome.
“I am very happy with the performance of all our bowlers throughout this tournament. I’ve been putting some hard work in the conditions and I reaped the rewards today (Wednesday),” he said at the conclusion of the match.
“It feels great to get the Man-of-the-Match. It’s always a pleasure to play for my country and I’m really enjoying it. I grew up playing with a lot of my team-mates and it’s been good fun. We believe we can win and we want to win."
Thursday: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Barbados Pride at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. First ball is 9 am (8 am Jamaica Time).
Chris Gayle has also been named in the 15-man squad announced today but there is no place for Odean Smith or Sherfane Rutherford, two of the top performers in the 2021 Hero CPL this year.
West Indies are the defending world champions and only two-time winners of the ICC T20 World Cup, winning in 2012 against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa in Colombo then four years later in 2016 against England in Kolkata. The West Indies now have the opportunity to create further history by becoming the first team to win a hat-trick of ICC T20 World Cup victories.
“The squad is one with good depth and strength in all departments. There is tremendous T20 experience along with World Cup-winning experience which should stand the team in good stead,” said Chief Selector Roger Harper.
“This squad is made up of many world-beating players, who once knitted into a world-beating team, will be extremely difficult to beat. I expect the team to do very well and with the ‘rub of the green’ I think the team has a good chance of defending the title.”
Harper said Rampaul will add quality to the squad.
“Ravi Rampaul is a highly experienced bowler, who performed well in the last CG Insurance Super50 Cup and the current Hero CPL to date. He will boost the team's wicket-taking options in the power-play and the middle phase and will provide another option for the death overs,” Harper said.
“Roston Chase has shown that he is a very capable T20 player. He performed well in the CPL in 2020 and has been outstanding in the 2021 edition so far. He has shown the ability to knit the innings together while still scoring at a fast rate with a low dot-ball percentage. He will be an excellent foil for the explosive players in the team.”
The full squad comprises Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.
The travelling reserves include Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein.
West Indies have been drawn in Group 1 and will play five group games against England, South Africa and Australia along with the winner of Round 1 Group A (Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Namibia) and the runner-up from Round 1 Group B (Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and Oman).
West Indies’ first group game will be against England in Dubai on October 23.
The team features nine Caribbean players and two overseas stars and selection rewards consistent performances across the 2021 tournament. The team heavily features young players from across the Caribbean who have been extremely impressive in this year’s Hero CPL.
The team includes Ravi Rampaul who is the leading wicket-taker for this season and the World Cup-bound Evin Lewis who has been excellent throughout. The two overseas players who make the team are Faf du Plessis and Tim David, both from the Saint Lucia Kings. The performances of Rampaul and Roston Chase in the tournament has seen them gain selection for the West Indies squad for the ICC T20 World Cup.
“The commentary panel, in selecting the team of the tournament would like to commend the teams and players for making the job a very challenging one,” said Ian Bishop, former West Indies fast bowler and member of the commentary panel.
“A few players stood head and shoulders above the crowd due to their high level of excellence, and their performance simply made their case impossible to ignore. With the remaining selections there was vigorous debate and sometimes splitting hairs due to the high levels of performance and competition for similar roles from experienced, mid-level and young players.
“The abundance of talent, enthusiasm and passion shown by so many players in 2021 was laudable and once again made the tournament extremely competitive and compelling viewing. We accept and welcome the view that fans will have varying opinions and debates on their favourite commend all the players for their distinguished efforts throughout the tournament.”
Hero CPL 2021 Team of the Tournament
Evin Lewis (St Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Faf du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings), Nicholas Pooran (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Roston Chase (Saint Lucia Kings), Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders), Tim David (Saint Lucia Kings), Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders), Romario Shepherd (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Odean Smith (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Akeal Hosein (Trinbago Knight Riders) and Ravi Rampaul (Trinbago Knight Riders).
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TKR won the toss and elected to field first. This proved an inspired decision as their vaunted bowling attack ran through the Tallawahs top order. However, Carlos Brathwaite and Imad Wasim managed to rebuild the innings to give the Tallawahs a total to try and defend.
In reply, TKR overcame a rain delay to win the game with ease although they had several fielding mishaps to help them on their way. Lendl Simmons returned to form as his 70 lead the way for the Knight Riders.
With several enforced changes as a result of injuries in the camp, the Tallawahs got their innings off to a poor start with five wickets falling in the PowerPlay.
At the halfway stage of the innings, they could only muster 34 runs as the TKR bowling combinations of Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine and Khary Pierre offered no freebies.
Once Imad Wasim, making his first appearance for the Tallawahs in this Hero CPL, and Brathwaite got their eye in they were able to launch a counter-attack.
The pair put on an 83-run partnership from 64 balls to rebuild the innings and that was supplemented by some late Andre Russell sixes to give TKR a tricky total to negotiate.
TKR got their innings off to a watchful start, but Sunil Narine was dismissed just before the heavens opened leading to a rain delay.
Once play resumed TKR easily chased the 145 required as Simmons and Colin Munro put together a 102-run partnership to ensure there would be no drama in the chase.
Trinbago Knight Riders 145-3 (Simmons 70, Munro 34; Imad 2-19, Pretorius 1-39) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 144-7 (Brathwaite 58, Imad 42; Hosein 2-12, Rampaul 2-26) by seven wickets.
The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first and they produced a disciplined performance with the ball that kept the Knight Riders in check throughout.
Led by Tabraiz Shamsi’s 4-36, wickets were taken at regular intervals to ensure that no batter ever felt comfortable at the crease as the Knight Riders reached 150-8.
Needing 151 to win the Amazon Warriors got off to the worst possible start losing Paul Sterling for a duck and three wickets in total in the power play.
Shimron Hetmyer and Colin Ingram briefly threatened to take the game away from the Knight Riders but when Andre Russell removed Hetmyer the collapse began and the remaining Amazon Warriors batters fell for just 26 runs.
Earlier on the Knight Riders had constructed their best total of the Hero CPL campaign courtesy of a well-compiled 42 from Colin Munro. Overcoming the early loss of Tion Webster and Nicholas Pooran, Munro combined with Tim Siefert to compile a 51-run partnership that set a foundation for some late order risk taking.
Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Ravi Rampaul hit a combined five sixes to help the Knight Riders set a total of 150 runs that always appeared as if it would be tricky to chase.
This proved to be the case in the Amazon Warrior reply. No batter was able to face more than 20 deliveries despite reaching 81-4 in the 10th over. The Amazon Warriors lost their remaining six wickets for 43 runs to succumb to a heavy defeat.
The returning Akeal Hosein proved to be crucial in the Knight Riders' bowling attack taking 3-36 and he was ably supported by the parsimonious Andre Russell (3-16) and Sunil Narine (2-9).
Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 150-8 (Munro 42, Seifert 27; Shamsi 4-36, Shepherd 3-22) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 124 all out (Hemraj 28, Hetmyer 20; Russell 3-16, Hosein 3-36) by 26 runs
The Tallawahs won the toss and surprisingly opted to bat first and that decision backfired almost immediately.
Losing four wickets in the PowerPlay, the Tallawahs were in trouble at 25-4 and despite a 50-run partnership between Fabian Allen and Imad Wasim too much was left to do at the back end.
116-7 never looked like it was enough but the Tallawahs fought gamely to defend the total taking out six wickets in the process.
However, Andre Russell and Akeal Hosein saw the chase home to move the Knight Riders into the top four.
Earlier on Ravi Rampaul impressed to uproot the Tallawahs batting, the seam bowler took 4-19 including three in the PowerPlay to put the Knight Riders in complete control.
The Tallawahs only had an energetic Fabian Allen half-century to thank to prevent a total collapse.
The Knight Riders made hard going of what should have been a simple chase. Openers Nicholas Pooran and Tion Webster both fell for ducks to leave the Knight Riders 0-2 in the first two overs. But Colin Munro and Tim Seifert rebuilt the innings with a 50-run partnership.
When the pair fell in quick succession the Tallawahs had a moment of hope but Russell and Hosein ensured there would be no dramatic defeat, guiding the Knight Riders home with five balls to spare.
Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 119-6 (Munro 40, Seifert 28; Amir 2-15, Green 1-12) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 116-7 (Fabian 50, Brooks 20; Rampaul 4-19, Narine 1-21) by 4 wickets.
They join the likes of Andre Fletcher, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Ravi Rampaul, Kennar Lewis and Dominic Drakes as West Indians participating in the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Other big names participating include England's Moeen Ali and Alex Hales as well as Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
The ILT20 is set to begin in January next year in the UAE and is competing with South Africa's T20 League for players. There will be six franchises consisting of 18 players each.
The 2023 edition of the ILT20 will have 34 matches. All the teams will play each other twice, before four playoffs, including the final, spread across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
