Tallawahs power hitting earns them victory
BASSETERRE, St Kitts and Nevis— Jamaica Tallawahs inflicted the third successive defeat on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League with a 22-run victory at Warner Park.
The Patriots won the toss and opted to bowl, yet the Tallawahs were able to post a sizeable score of 169/8, largely thanks to some power hitting from captain Rovman Powell and Andre Russell.
The Patriots were unable to accelerate and chase the total as Tallawah bowlers Imad Wasim, Veerasammy Permaul and Migael Pretorius helped produce a disciplined bowling performance which earned the franchise their third win of this year’s Hero CPL.
Jamaica Tallawahs got off to a steady start, with openers Kennar Lewis and youngster Kirk McKenzie batting through the first five overs before Lewis was caught out on the boundary. Shamarh Brooks top scored with 43 runs from 39 balls to consolidate, before Powell and Russell hit fast runs to take the score to a substantial total. Patriot’s standout bowlers were spinners Jon-Russ Jaggesar and veteran Fawad Ahmed, who ensured their side took wickets throughout the innings, while maintaining low economy rates of five and under.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in contrast had an indifferent start, losing batsman Evin Lewis in the second over, closely followed by captain Chris Gayle. Devon Thomas and Joshua da Silva accumulated runs in search of building a foundation, but wickets tumbled and only Dominic Drakes later on in the innings was able to strike at the required velocity to chase the target, hitting 22 runs from just 12 balls. Once Drakes was out, and Fabian Allen dismissed in the 19th over, any hopes of a Patriots win evaporated and the Tallawahs were able to successfully defend their target.
Jamaica Tallawahs jump into a play-off spot with this victory, and will be hoping to stay there for the duration of this year’s league stages.
Jamaica Tallawahs 169/8 (Brooks 43, Powell 37; Fawad 2/14, Jaggesar 2/20) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 147/8 (Thomas 35, da Silva 28; Pretorius 3/26, Permaul 2/31) by 22 runs.
