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Brief scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 219/8 in 20 overs (Maheesh Theekshana 3/15) beat Barbados Royals 172/9 in 20 overs (David Miller 71) by 47 runs.
Barbados Royals fell to their third consecutive defeat in the Caribbean Premier League 2024, losing to the Guyana Amazon Warriors by 47 runs at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Wednesday.
The Warriors avenged the 32-run defeat against the Royals in their previous CPL 2024 tie. Batting first, the Warriors scored 219/8 to mount pressure on the Royals. After a rocky start, the Royals did pick up but even a David Miller late flourish couldn't guide them to a win.
The Royals currently sit in third place in the CPL 2024 standings with 10 points and have already qualified for the playoffs. Skipper Rovman Powell won the toss and elected to bowl first. There were two changes in the line-up, Rahkeem Cornwall and Nyeem Young were replaced by Rivaldo Clarke and Naveen-ul-Haq.
A solid powerplay by the Warriors
The Warriors lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early to Maheesh Theekshana, but Azam Khan and Shai Hope didn't let the setback affect their run-scoring. By the end of the powerplay, they had put 60 runs on the board.
The Hope-Hetmyer partnership
After Jason Holder dismissed Khan, Shimron Hetmyer entered the fray. The two West Indian stars joined hands to dominate the Royals' bowlers and built a 106-run partnership off just 54 balls. By the time Hetmyer was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj, the Warriors were at 165/3 in 14.4 overs, with the 200 mark looking easily achievable.
Middle order falters for the Warriors
Hope fell shortly afterwards to Theekshana, ending with a brilliant innings of 71 runs from 37 balls. The rest of the middle order, however, couldn't sustain. The Warriors continued to lose wickets till Romario Shepherd came in with a cameo. He scored a quick-fire 23 off 13 balls to take the Warriors over 200 and set a target of 220 for the Royals.
An expensive outing by the Royals
The Royal’s bowling unit did take a pounding. Except for Theekshana, the rest of the bowlers proved to be expensive. Though the wicket was better than the previous two games, the bowlers couldn’t capitalize. Theekshana's 3/15 was the only silver lining as the rest went for over 10 runs per over.
Early hiccups for the Royals
The Royals had a rocky start, losing both Kadeem Alleyne and Alick Athanaze within the first four overs. However, Quinton de Kock and Rivaldo Clarke ensured the scoring continued. By the end of the powerplay, the Royals were at 46/2.
A batting collapse in the middle
After building a 46-run stand, both de Kock and Clarke fell back-to-back to the spin duo of Imran Tahir and Moeen Ali. Thereafter, the Royals just kept on losing wickets. Powell, Holder, Maharaj and Theekshana were dismissed one after the other. By the 14th over, the Royals were languishing at 95/8. They were nine down even before breaching 100.
Miller’s solo brilliance
With the Royals needing a massive 125 runs off 36 balls to win, Miller decided to take things into his own hands. He went on a hitting spree, scoring a barrage of boundaries and maximums to keep the score ticking. When Obed McCoy fell in the 15th over, the Royals had only one wicket left.
Naveen-ul-Haq held on to the crease while Miller kept the scoring on. However, the target was too steep for Miller to overcome and the Royals missed the mark by 47 runs. The South African ended as the top-scorer with 71 runs off 34 balls, which included eight boundaries and five maximums.
On Friday, Barbados Royals will face Trinbago Knight Riders in their last match of the CPL 2024 league phase at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
