PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Left-hander Kyle Mayers lashed his third half-century of the Caribbean Premier League campaign as unbeaten Barbados Royals continued their dominant march through the tournament with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Trinbago Knight Riders.
In the opening match at Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday night, Royals made light work of the home side’s 132 to post their sixth straight win and put one foot in the playoffs.
Mayers was at the forefront of Royals’ enterprise, top-scoring with 79 from 36 balls. He crunched 10 fours and five sixes, racing to his half-century off just 25 deliveries.
South African Corbin Bosch chipped in with an unbeaten 33 from 43 balls, a controlled knock that took Royals over the line with four overs to spare.
For TKR, the loss was their third in five games, leaving them bottom of the six-team league on three points and just one win.
Left-hander Nicholas Pooran excelled in a new opening role, striking 52 from 43 deliveries, but other than for Sunil Narine’s 30 off 31 balls at number six, TKR’s batting lacked real quality.
Captain Kieron Pollard failed again with six and now has just 30 runs from four innings while new big-hitting acquisition Andre Russell also continued his struggles with three. He has scored 34 runs from his four innings.
Afghan off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, in his first outing of the tournament, snatched three for 17 from four splendid overs to hurt TKR.
He was complemented by off-break bowler Rahkeem Cornwall (2-27) and seamers Jason Holder and Obed McCoy, both of whom finished with two for 30.
Sent in, Pooran counted a brace of fours and sixes in his fifty but lacked support and TKR found themselves floundering on 37 for four in the seventh over.
The West Indies white-ball captain then put on 70 for the fifth with Narine – who blasted two sixes – to revive the innings before the collapse ensued, the last six wickets going down for 25 runs.
Cornwall perished to the ninth ball of the chase for one with ten runs on the board – one of two wickets to fall to South African quick Daryn Dupavillon (2-30)
But Mayers inspired a 98-run stand with Bosch who then anchored a 28-run, unbroken third wicket partnership with fellow South African Quinton de Kock (15 not out) to increase TKR’s misery.