BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Jamaica Tallawahs handed woeful Barbados Tridents their third straight defeat at home, as they stormed to the top of the Caribbean Premier League standings with an uncomplicated five-wicket victory here Wednesday night.
Chasing 152 at Kensington Oval, Tallawahs reached their target on the stroke of midnight with 16 balls to spare, to notch their fifth win of the tournament and move to 10 points.
Opener Johnson Charles bludgeoned 53 off 33 deliveries while Rovman Powell saw his side home with a controlled unbeaten 35 off 27 balls.
Tallawahs are two clear of reigning champions Trinbago Knight Riders in second, with two games remaining in their campaign.
Tridents, meanwhile, slumped to their fourth defeat in five outings, remaining fifth in the six-team standings only above St Lucia Stars.
Sent in, Tridents saw their batting woes continue and needed opener Martin Guptill’s top score of 73 to get up 151 for nine off their allotted 20 overs.
Imran Khan and Ashley Nurse both got 20 down the order but none of the other frontline batsmen shone, in yet another limp display from a side clearly short of confidence.
Not for the first time, wickets tumbled early leaving the Tridents in strife at 55 for five in the ninth over.
The rot started in the second over when South African Hashim Amla missed a sweep at a straight one from leg-spinner Samuel Badree and was lbw for three with five on the board, and it continued in the next over when Shai Hope was superbly yorked by fast bowler Oshane Thomas (2-22) for one at 12 for two.
Steve Smith (9), captain Jason Holder (7) and Nicholas Pooran all perished cheaply leaving Guptill to add respectability to the total in a 60-run sixth wicket stand with Imran Khan.
All told, Guptill faced 60 deliveries and counted four fours and three sixes before eventually holing out on the ropes at long on off Powell in the 18th over, to be seventh out.
In reply, Tridents struck early, removing Glenn Phillips for six to a catch at the wicket off left-arm pacer Mohammed Irfan but Charles ripped into lose bowling to re-energise the innings.
The right-handed St Lucian smashed five fours and three sixes, dominating a 56-run, second wicket stand with Kennar Lewis who laboured 20 balls for his eight.
Both batsmen fell in the space of 13 balls with six runs added but their dismissals led to a 42-run stand between Powell and David Miller (14), which all but settled the outcome.
Powell struck a couple of fours and sixes while the left-handed Miller belted a four and a six off eight balls.
Miller and Captain Andre Russell (10) fell three balls apart in the 15th over but Tridents had left it too late.
