Narine too much for erratic Tallawahs
TAROUBA, Trinidad (CMC) — All-rounder Sunil Narine’s second half-century in as many outings was enough to hand Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) their second-straight win in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) as they outplayed an erratic Jamaica Tallawahs by seven wickets here Thursday night.
After conceding just 19 runs in a stingy four-over spell of off-spin which yielded one wicket, the left-hander then top-scored with 53 as TKR chased down a modest 136 with 11 balls remaining at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Narine counted seven fours and two sixes in a 38-ball knock to follow up his 50 against Guyana Amazon Warriors on Tuesday while New Zealand’s Colin Munro struck five fours and two sixes in a measured, unbeaten 49 from 46 deliveries to leave TKR as the only unbeaten team and keep them top of the standings.
Narine had earlier spearheaded a disciplined bowling effort that strangled Tallawahs’ big hitters, and limited the two-time champions to 135 for eight off their 20 overs.
Seamers Jayden Seales (2-21) and Ali Khan (2-25) were excellent with two wickets apiece and it was their new-ball burst which reduced Tallawahs to 19 for three in the third over after being sent in.
New Zealander Glenn Phillips stood tall with 58 off 42 deliveries at the top of the order while Andre Russell (25) and Asif Ali (22) provided supporting knocks but both struggled to score freely.
Both Chadwick Walton and Nicholas Kirton failed to score, leaving Tallawahs on 10 for two after seven balls of the innings and when Captain Rovman Powell (eight) skied Ali Khan to Dwayne Bravo at a deepish mid-on, TKR were firmly in command.
Phillips and Asif propped up the innings with a stand of 39 for the fourth wicket but it required 31 balls, and when Asif played on to Narine in the eighth over, Tallawahs were labouring on 58 for four.
With five runs added, Carlos Brathwaite’s nine-ball torture over a single run ended in the 11th over when he missed a massive heave and had his stumps shattered by leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed’s googly.
And even though Phillips and the usually big-hitting Russell combined in a 36-run, fifth-wicket stand in an attempt to bolster the innings, the partnership was a slow one needing 30 deliveries, and Tallawahs were yet to reach triple figures at the 15-over mark.
Phillips lashed five fours and four sixes but eventually fell in the 16th over, picking out Dwayne Bravo on the ropes at deep square with Seales in the first over of a new spell.
And Russell managed just three fours in a 26-ball travail before holing out to long off in the penultimate over, to see Bravo to 499 wickets in Twenty20s.
Needing a special effort to defend the small total, Tallawahs struck early when speedster Fidel Edwards claimed Lendl Simmons holing out to mid-off off the third ball of the innings, without a run on the board.
However, all hope diminished thereafter as Narine put on 75 for the second wicket with Munro who in turn added a further 30 for the third wicket with Darren Bravo (14) to end the game as a competitive affair.