Jamaica Tallawahs Beat Barbados Tridents
Posted 17.08.13 in General news, Press releases
The Tallawahs Advance to Semi Finals after beating the Tridents
An unbroken fifth wicket partnership of 49 runs between debutant Jermaine Blackwood and Andre Russell pulled the Jamaica Tallawahs out of trouble and secured the home team’s semi-final berth in the Limacol Caribbean Premier League.
Both batsmen met at the crease with the Tallawahs rocking in an uncertain position chasing 114 runs for victory. It was the second time in the day that the team batting first failed to really fire in the first innings of the match. Before the Barbados Tridents got to 113/4 from their 20 overs, the St Lucia Zouks earlier had limped to 99/5 from their 20 overs.
It was thanks to Dwayne Smith’s 52 from 53 balls that the Tridents were able to get to that total. And remarkably, at one stage during the Tallawahs’ chase, it seemed like it might be enough. The wicket wasn’t the easiest one to bat on, though the T&T Red Steel had few problems in their chase earlier in the afternoon but after Ahmed Shehzad’s cameo innings, the Tallawahs seemed to lose their momentum. The Pakistani got the chase off to a rollicking start hitting 28 runs from 25 balls. Chris Gayle was out cheaply once more scoring five runs from four balls before he was bowled by Shoaib Malik. But the silence of the crowd when Gayle was dismissed quickly turned to cheers once more as Shehzad continued to attack the bowling. He struck four fours and one six, running only six of his 28 runs. But when he was out with the score on 36/2, the Tridents found a way back into the game.
Chadwick Walton and Danza Hyatt met at the crease but their partnership would only last 11 runs. They tried knocking the ball around for singles to build a partnership, but after a miscommunication in the ninth over, both batsmen would end up at the same end. Hyatt was the unfortunate one to go. Walton battled to 15, hitting one six in his 20-ball knock, but three overs later he himself was run out. This time it was via a direct hit from Smith at point.
The Tallawahs were rocking ferociously at this stage, still needing 49 runs from 47 balls. But Russell and Blackwood combined to pull the hosts to safety. They didn’t take long to settle in. When Emrit returned in the 15th over, Blackwood started the over with a boundary and Russell ended it with a six. The very same thing happened in the next over from Shakib Al Hasan. Suddenly, by the start of the 17th over, the equation was 14 runs needed from 24 balls. In a matter of overs both batsmen had lost Tridents their grip on the match. Russell has become that important player for the Tallawahs. He ended on 27 runs from 17 balls, striking two fours and two sixes. At the other end, Blackwood didn’t do himself any harm on debut, staying with Russell to the end, finishing on 21 runs from 30 balls. The Tallawahs had gotten to their target with 11 balls to spare.
The wicket wasn’t as easy as Russell and Blackwood made it look however. Even in the first match, the St Lucia Zouks had struggled to put down a competitive total. Smith had started off quite slowly. Instead, it was his new opening partner, Raymon Reifer, that took the attack to the Tallawahs bowlers. He struck two fours and a six in an otherwise modest Powerplay. The Tridents had only managed 33 runs from it. Smith had gotten his first boundary after his ninth delivery. As the Powerplay ended, Nikita Miller got Reifer with his second ball.
Smith and Shoaib Malik tried to build a partnership, and they did, putting on 29 runs together. But they had batted cautiously, scoring their runs from 39 balls. Malik went in the 14th over for 14. He was one of two wickets in Muralitharan’s third over. Four balls after Malik’s dismissal, Tridents skipper, Kieron Pollard, was caught at slip by Gayle for another duck. Ashley Nurse tried to inject some life at the end of the innings, hitting 15 runs from 12 balls, but it was only a cameo. Muralitharan came back in his last over to account for his wicket. The Sri Lankan would finish with figures of 4-0-12-3. Smith managed a six and a four in the last two overs to get past 50. He ended unbeaten on 52 from 53 balls. He had batted out the innings but there wasn’t much a score to show for it.
The Tallawahs got to their target and got into the semi-finals. The major worry now for the Tridents is that they go into the semi-finals with a momentum of three losses. All the other teams are on winning runs. Dwayne Smith was awarded the Limacol Super Six award while Andre Russell won the Digicel 4G Fastest Scorer. Muttiah Muralitharan was Man of the Match.
ends
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