It took three tries for the Jamaica Tallawahs to get it right against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, but they did so at the right time, in the final game of the competition, to lift the LIMACOL Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 trophy.
It took three tries for the Jamaica Tallawahs to get it right against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, but they did so at the right time, in the final game of the competition, to lift the LIMACOL Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 trophy.
Chris Gayle didn’t set the competition alight, nor did he set the final ablaze but he played a smart, intelligent and responsible innings to guide his team to relatively easy win in the end.
Gayle won the toss and inserted the Amazon Warriors and it proved to be the correct decision as the Tallawahs win was set up by their bowlers who stifled the usually free flowing openers of the Warriors preventing them from getting off to their usual storming start. After 10 overs the score read Guyana Amazon Warriors 46-2; their lowest score after 10 overs in the competition.
As the Warriors tried to build some momentum their batsmen took a liking to Gayle who ended with figures of 1-42 from 4 overs, 20 of those runs came off the final over of the innings. Andre Russell who had just one over was blasted for 12 runs. Lendl Simmons who had 40 from 44 deliveries top scored for the Warriors.
The Amazon Warriors would not have been totally happy with their total of 128-5 but had given themselves a chance. The Jamaica Tallawahs would have fancied themselves to get those runs.
The opening pair of Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton batted cautiously for the first two overs before Walton freed his arms in the third over, hitting Dilshan for a six and a four before the bowler got the last laugh, trapping him leg before wicket for 13.
Kumar Sangakkara failed to recapture the magic of the night before and laboured to 13 runs before getting out.
Jermaine Blackwood was the next to go at 67 for 3, leaving the Tallawahs to get 63 runs to win with just over eight overs to get it done.
Two key overs would determine the outcome of the final.
Over number 14, bowled by Barnwell went for 20 runs, Gayle hit two fours while Andre Russell continued where he left off the night before smashing a six and a four in the over. That eased the tension for the Tallawahs and then in the 17th over -Man of the Tournament – Krishmar Santokie completely lost the plot. That over too, went for 20 runs. The first delivery went for 5 wides and he managed to send down 6 more wides before the over was complete.
Russell finished with 33 runs from 18 balls proving to be a very valuable asset for the Tallawahs but the man of the match was captain Chris Gayle who had used his guile to guide the Jamaica Tallawahs to a much deserved win in the very first final of the LIMACOL CPL T20 competition.
Photo credit: cplt20.com
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