BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Man-of-the-Match Dwayne Smith struck an electrifying half-century and Jason Mohammed followed up with a cameo, as Guyana Amazon Warriors pulled off a thrilling four-wicket win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots with a ball to spare, in the second game of the Caribbean Premier League here Thursday night.
With two runs required off the last two balls of the contest at Warner Park, Mohammed and Veerasammy Permaul scrambled a couple off the penultimate delivery after captain Faf du Plessis missed a catch in the deep off left-armer Krishmar Santokie, to ensure the visitors overhauled their target of 165.
Smith had laid the groundwork for the victory with 62 off 36 deliveries and Mohammed played the supporting role with an unbeaten 42 from 29 balls, which included six fours.
Captain Martin Guptill chipped in with 22 off 16 balls at the top of the order while West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite finished with two for 35 from four overs of medium pace.
Earlier, Patriots’ batsmen misfired after they were sent in, but they still managed to get up to 164 for nine off their 20 overs.
Man-of-the-Match Dwayne Smith goes down the ground during his top score of 62 for Guyana Amazon Warriors. (Photo courtesy CPL)
Australian Brad Hodge and former West Indies wicketkeeper Devon Thomas top-scored with 38 while South African du Plessis got 30.
Pakistani left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir was the best bowler with four for 20 while Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa picked up three for 34.
Amazon Warriors started poorly, losing prized opener Lendl Simmons without scoring to the fifth ball of the game, caught at slip by Smith off Tanvir, without a run on the board.
Du Plessis, entering at number three, struck two fours and a six off 28 balls in an attempt to rally the innings as wickets fell steadily, and when he drove Zampa to Guptill at cover in the 10th over, Amazon Warriors were tottering on 54 for four.
Hodge then struck four fours and a six off 32 balls and Thomas, a four and four sixes off just 17 balls, to bolster the innings in a 60-run fifth wicket stand off a mere 32 deliveries.
In one over from West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo – the 13th of the innings – they combined to plunder 20 runs, as the innings gained momentum.
The partnership ended when Hodge holed out to long on off Zampa in the 15th over and when Thomas was bowled by Tanvir in the 17th over, it was left to Thisara Perera, with 20 off 12 balls, to provide the late runs.
Smith then put Amazon Warriors in control with a stroke-filled knock, putting on 62 off 36 balls for the first wicket with Guptill and a further 29 for the second wicket with Aussie Chris Lynn (6).
In his first game for the Georgetown franchise following three seasons with Barbados Tridents, the right-handed Smith blasted three fours and five sixes to instantly make an impact.
He lost Guptill when the New Zealander picked out Hodge at mid-off off Brathwaite in the sixth over and he eventually perished in the 11th, taken at cover off Santokie.
Smith was one of three wickets to fall for nine runs as Amazon Warriors declined to 100 for four in the 14th over but Mohammed anchored two stands – 34 for the fifth wicket with Anthony Bramble (14) and a further 25 for the sixth with Tanvir (8), to set up a grand finish.
Scoreboard
PATRIOTS
L Simmons c Smith b Sohail Tanvir 0
E Lewis b Emrit 8
*F du Plessis c Guptill b Zampa 30
J Carter run out 1
B Hodge c Mohammed b Zampa 38
D Thomas b Sohail Tanvir 38
T Perera c Lynn b Sohail Tanvir 20
C Brathwaite c Mohammed b Sohail Tanvir 5
K Santokie lbw b Zampa 0
S Badree not out 7
T Shamsi not out 5
Extras (lb4, w8) 12
TOTAL (9 wkts, 20 overs) 164
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Simmons, 0.5 overs), 2-34 (Lewis, 5.1), 3-35 (Carter, 5.2), 4-54 (du Plessis, 9.3), 5-114 (Hodge, 14.5), 6-130 (Thomas, 16.2), 7-136 (Brathwaite, 17), 8-143 (Santokie, 17.3), 9-153 (Perera, 18.3)
Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 4-1-20-4 (w3), Smith 2-0-18-0 (w1), Permaul 3-0-23-0 (w1), Emrit 4-0-37-1 (w3), Zampa 4-0-34-3, Bishoo 3-0-28-0.
AMAZON WARRIORS
D Smith c du Plessis b Santokie 62
*M Guptill c Hodge b Brathwaite 22
C Lynn run out 6
J Mohammed not out 42
C Barnwell c wkp Thomas b Brathwaite 5
+A Bramble c wkp Thomas b Shamsi 14
Sohail Tanvir run out 8
V Permaul not out 0
Extras (lb1, w5) 6
TOTAL (6 wkts, 19.5 overs) 165
Did not bat: R Emrit, A Zampa, D Bishoo
Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Guptill, 6 overs), 2-91 (Smith, 10.1), 3-91 (Lynn, 10.3), 4-100 (Barnwell, 13.4), 5-134 (Bramble, 16.4), 6-159 (Sohail Tanvir, 19.3)
Bowling: Santokie 3.5-0-25-1 (w1), Badree 4-0-37-0, Perera 4-0-51-0 (w3), Brathwaite 4-0-35-2 (w1), Shamsi 4-0-16-1.
Result: Amazon Warriors won by four wickets.
Points: Amazon Warriors 2, Patriots 0.
Man-of-the-match: Dwayne Smith.
Toss: Amazon Warriors.
Umpires: L Reifer, J Ward; TV – C Tuckett.
Captain Martin Guptill scored a brisk 22 at the top of the order but it was a timed innings of 42 not out (6×4) from Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder Jason Mohammed which took the Warriors to 165 for 6 in 19.5 overs.
All-rounder Carlos Brathwaite was the pick of the Patriots’ bowlers with 2 for 35 from his allotted four overs.
