St. Kitts & Nevis, Aug 28: Records tumbled at Warner Park as the Jamaica Tallawahs destroyed the Saint Lucia Kings by 120 runs, the biggest win in Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) history.
The Tallawahs had contributions throughout their side, but it was Andre Russell who was the most brutal, scoring fifty from just 14 balls, another Hero CPL record.
The Kings were given a mammoth target of 256 runs to win the game and they never really found partnerships that would see them get close to the Tallawahs efforts.
The Tallawahs were put into bat by the Kings and were given a lightning start thanks to Kennar Lewis who smashed 48 runs from just 22 balls in an innings that include five massive sixes that soared out of Warner Park.
Lewis was well supported by Chadwick Walton who was measured while his opening partner was scoring so freely but he opened his shoulders soon after Lewis was dismissed by Roston Chase.
The Tallawahs lost Walton for 47 but that did not slow them down with fast runs coming from Haider Ali and Rovman Powell.
The finishing touches to a fantastic Jamaica batting performance come from Russell who scored at a strike rate of 357.14. The power with which Russell struck the ball was nothing short of remarkable with the Kings bowlers unable to find any answer to his brutal hitting.
When the Kings innings got underway there were some lusty blows from Rahkeem Cornwall but then wickets began to fall regularly.
The Kings lost Cornwall and Faf du Plessis in the first over and by the end of the PowerPlay they were 66/6 and all chances of an improbable win were gone.
It was Hero CPL debutant Migael Pretorius who was the star with the ball for the Tallawahs, returning figures of 4/32.
The only standout batsman was the inform Tim David who made 56 from 28. He was sadly lacking for support as the Kings stumbled to 135 all out.
Brief Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 255/5 (Russell, 50*, Lewis 48: Pretorius 4/32, Khan 3/); Saint Lucia Kings 135 (David 56, Riaz 26; McCoy 3/52)
Result: Jamaica win by 120 runs.
MoM: Andre Russell
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Defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders got their 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign up and running with a six-wicket victory over the Barbados Royals.
Barbados Royals won the toss and opted to bat first but the decision didn’t go their way as an excellent Trinbago bowling display, led by Isuru Udana’s 5/21, restricted them to 122 all out.
In reply Trinbago initially made hard work of the chase before the experienced duo of Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin saw them home with ease.
The Royals had got off to a steady start reaching 37 runs at the end of the PowerPlay for the sole loss of Johnson Charles.
However they could not build on the foundation as Udana’s double strike removed Jason Holder and Glenn Phillips in quick succession.
A counter-attacking 30 runs from Azam Khan briefly threatened to help Barbados set an imposing target but Udana’s re-entry into the attack led to the dismissal of both Khan and Thisara Perera to complete the first five wicket haul of the 2021 Hero CPL.
The remaining Royals wickets fell like dominoes to leave them on 122 all out.
Trinbago stuttered in their chase of the target losing three wickets in the PowerPlay as Mohammed Amir started his spell with laser like accuracy and Oshane Thomas followed that up by getting Tim Seifert to top-edge a rising delivery to deep square leg.
At 38/4 the Knight Riders were in a perilous situation, but captain Pollard took on the responsibility to take the drama out of the chase with a brilliantly constructed 58 runs from 30 balls.
Along with the experienced Denesh Ramdin the pair put on an 87-run partnership from 57 balls to see Trinbago home comfortably.
Brief Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders: 125/4 (Pollard 58*, Ramdin 29*; Udana 5/21, Rampaul 2/13); Barbados Royals 122 (Khan 30, Phillips 24; Amir 3/21).
Result: TKR win by six wickets.
MoM: Isuru Udana (Barbados)
