(Wisden) An all-round bowling effort helped Jamaica Tallawahs shoot out St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for just 75 and seal a massive 108-run victory in the Caribbean Premier League match in Kingston on Saturday (July 16).
Batting first, Jamaica posted 183 for 6 from their 20 overs with Kumar Sangakkara smashing a 47-ball 65. Chasing the stiff target, St Kitts and Nevis were never in the game and were shot out in just 15.5 overs as Kesrick Williams (3 for 19), Dale Steyn (2 for 5), Andre Russell (2 for 11) and Shakib Al Hasan (2 for 2) combined to wreak havoc.Faf du Plessis, the St Kitts and Nevis captain, won the toss but that was pretty much the only thing that went his side’s way.
They did manage to get Jamaica’s openers, including Chris Gayle, within the first four overs but couldn’t capitalise on the start. The experienced Sangakkara showed his class and steadied the ship with a 74-run stand for the third wicket at a quick pace with Rovman Powell (35 off 23).
It was the perfect platform for the big-hitting Russell and canny Shakib. The latter smashed an unbeaten 17-ball 35 to power his side past 180. Russell dismissed the dangerous Lendl Simmons and du Plessis inside three overs and things went only downhill from there for St Kitts and Nevis.
A brief partnership between Evin Lewis and Jonathan Carter followed but the challenge ended in the ninth over when Williams, the pacer, sent back Carter, Lewis and Brad Hodge. In the other game of the day, a blazing 39-ball 68 from Colin Munro led Trinbago Knight Riders to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Barbados Tridents in Barbados.
Munro, with ample support from the other top-order batsmen, made light work of what seemed like a stiff chase after Barbados posted 172 for 4.
The chase was kicked off by William Perkins, who made 23 as Trinbago scored 52 in the Power Play. Perkins fell when he pulled Wayne Parnell to midwicket but Barbados had little success after that as Munro toyed with the bowling. Hashim Amla played second fiddle as the pair added 107 for the second wicket, leaving the rest of the chase a mere formality.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, Barbados struggled to get going and managed just 32 runs from the first six overs. It was only when AB de Villiers walked in that the innings got some momentum as he added 60 in 44 balls with Shoaib Malik.
Both batsmen fell in their 40s before Kieron Pollard played a brutal cameo, scoring 41 runs from just 20 balls to power Barbados past 170. Munro, however, ensured it wasn’t enough.
Their fourth win from six matches took Jamaica to nine points and second place on the table behind Guyana Amazon Warriors, who have 10 points from seven games played, while St Kitts and Nevis stayed rooted to the fifth spot with two points after their sixth loss from seven games. St Lucia Zouks also have just one win, but they have played only three matches to far.
Trinbago’s third win from six games helped them leapfrog Barbados into third position, with the latter in fourth on five points from as many games played.