The Trinbago Knight Riders put their might on display yet again as they outplayed St Kitts & Nevis Patriots by 59 runs to secure their eighth successive win in the Hero CPL.

In the other match, Guyana Amazon Warriors crushed St. Lucia Zouks by seven wickets.

The Knight Riders rested their stars Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine but were still far too good for the Patriots. Their all-round display with the bat and the ball installed them as the favourites for the title.

Found form

Lendl Simmons finally found form though they lost Amir Jangoo, making his senior T20 debut, and Colin Munro retired hurt after being hit on the hand while playing a short one. The total was 29.

Then Knight Riders were carried through by Simmons (96) and Darren Bravo (36) as they put on 130 runs and Knight Riders made 174 for four.

Simmons was severe on all bowlers starting from Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph with the new ball and later in the second half of the innings he carried on in the same vein against Rayad Emrit and Jon-Russ Jaggesar.

Yet credit was due to Jaggesar and Dominic Drakes who kept the Knight Riders boundary-less between the Powerplay and halfway drinks when they were 68 for one.

At one point Joseph hit Darren Bravo in the head, but all was well. Bravo ended a 35 ball streak without a boundary with a pull for four. Simmons too broke free, pulling Emrit for another six, before bringing up 50 off 42 balls with a single. That set the stage for a dash as the Knight Riders were 125 for 1.

Darren Bravo also hit Drakes for six, bringing up the 100 partnership off just 66 balls. Simmons pulled another six and Bravo smashed a four through extra-cover, making the 16th over highly productive. Joseph started the 18th well but Simmons bludgeoned two sixes to get into the 90s and the team past 150.

Cottrell finally got Bravo in a good 19th over and Drakes got two wickets in two balls in 20th when Simmons, four short of a century, pulled to Cottrell and Tim Seifert’s edge was well caught by Lynn. Raza survived the hat-trick ball and stand-in captain Dwayne Bravo smashed a six off the last ball.

As Patriots began their chase, Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre took the new ball for the Knight Riders. Pierre dismissed the dangerous Lewis caught by the 48-year-old Pravin Tambe for an athletic catch. Lynn and Joshua da Silva broke free off Pierre, each hitting a six with Da Silva also sweeping for four, but even an over of 18 only took the Patriots to 34 for one after six.

Then Tambe and Anderson Phillip tightened up further and at the halfway mark the Patriots needed almost 12 an over. Then Tambe bowled a maiden and at the end of his outstanding spell, Patriots were 67 for 2 off 13 and needed more than 15 an over. Tambe bowled four overs for 12 and took one wicket.

It became an uphill task for Patriots, as Knight Riders’ as Raza had figures of three for 8 runs. Patriots managed only 115 for seven and lost.

Trinbago Knight Riders 174/4 (Simmons 96, DM Bravo 36; Drakes 2/35, Cottrell 1/32) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 115/7 (Lynn 34, da Silva 29; Raza 3/15, Tambe 1/12, Hosein 1/15, DJ Bravo 1/17) by 59 runs

Player of the match : Lendl Simmons (TKR)

Hetmyer takes Warriors to an easy win in Hero CPL

Shimron Hetmyer plundered smashed another aggressive unbeaten fifty while the bowlers turned in another fine performance as Guyana Amazon Warriors outplayed St. Lucia Zouks by seven wickets with more than six overs to spare as Amazon Warriors jumped into second place.

Rakheem Cornwall had two sixes and two fours in a 13-ball 21 but no one else crossed 20 and only three players got into double digits. The Amazon Warriors mixed seam and spin to good effect.

Zouks left at 15 for two after four overs lost wickets at regular intervals. Even the normally dependable Najibullah Zadran (19) and Mohammed Nabi (13) were unable to haul them out of trouble. The steady Naveen ul Haq and Keemo Paul took two wickets each.

When Warriors went in, they were aided by Scott Kuggeleijn who sprayed wides both sides in a nine-ball first over that however produced only five runs. When Chandrapaul Hemraj started Nabi’s first over by smashing a six, things turned the other way and it was Warriors show after that.

Brandon King left early but Hemraj and Hetmeyer first and then Hetmeyer and Nicholas Pooran ensured it was smooth sailing.

Hetmyer attacked Chemar Holder mercilessly, pulling his first two balls for sixes and following up with three fours in a row including a majestic cover drive, a square cut and a punch over mid-off as Warriors zoomed to 82 for two in 10 overs. The 24-run over had reduced the easy chase to a stroll in the park.

Guyana Amazon Warriors 110/3 (Hetmyer 56*, Hemraj 26; Glen 1/9, Kuggeleijn 1/17, Nabi 1/23) beat St Lucia Zouks 109/7 (Glen 23*, Cornwall 21, Najibullah 19; Naveen 2/24, Paul 2/25, Tahir 1/10, Shepherd 1/11) by 7 wickets.

Player of the match: Shimron Hetmeyer (GAW).

Hero CPL Table

As on after matches on September 2, 2020

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