Teams Status
Guyana Amazon Warriors
After starting their CPL 2021 campaign with the biggest of bangs, Guyana Amazon Warriors have lost their way. Since then, they have lost two straight games, somewhat deflating the air out of their fans’ hopes of a genuine shot at the title, although these are still early days in the league and plenty can change.
Coincidentally, tonight they face the same side they upset on the opening night of the tournament. That night, it was Guyana’s bowlers that did the job, successfully defending a meagre 142 runs produced by their batters.
They managed a similar sort of total against St Kitts the next game but failed to defend it this time. In their third match, they again batted first and managed an improvement (166) over the 140s they got the prior two times but it still wasn’t enough.
The defeat was despite a 70-run knock from Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez, who appear to have found form, although he consumed 59 balls and batted at a rather below-par strike rate of 118.64.
He still wasn’t the main culprit, for that dis(honour) is reserved for Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq, who gave away 43 runs in his quote of four overs. The 21-year-old was outstanding in Vitality Blast 2021 and will likely finish as the tournament’s leading wicket taker but it appears that he has lost his touch en route from England to the Caribbean.
Trinbago Knight Riders
Trinbago Knight Riders’ swagger of last season might have left them, thanks to their two defeats so early in the campaign after not losing at all last season. But they showed last night that they can still contend for the title and win matches, if need be.
And once again, they have their captain Kieron Pollard to thank. The veteran power hitter rescued his team from 68-4 in the 12th over to 146-5 when he departed in the final over against St Lucia Kings, contributing a crucial 29-ball 41 on a sluggish pitch.
In the second innings of the match, Trinbago bowlers had their way with everyone except Andre Fletcher, who finished with an unbeaten 81 off 55, which should be proof how poor the rest of St Lucia batters were as they contributed just 44 runs in a combined total of 131-7.
Ravi Rampaul, 36, was excellent for the third straight game, picking up another three-for. With nine wickets to his name, he is currently the leading wicket taker in the tournament.
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