Guyana Amazon Warriors got off to a winning start on their home leg of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a thrilling victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs last night at the Providence National Stadium.
The Tallawahs won the toss and opted to field first and but for the final three overs of the Amazon Warriors innings that seemed like an inspired decision.
Restricting the Amazon Warriors to 104/7 after 17 overs the Tallawahs looked in full control but Odean Smith and Keemo Paul added 74 from 27 balls to guide the Amazon Warriors to a magnificent 178/8.
The total looked beyond the Tallawahs but Brandon King led a lone charge with the first Hero CPL century of the tournament. Taking the chase down to the final over, King was dismissed with three balls to go and with that victory slipped out of The Tallawahs’ reach.
Earlier the Tallawahs had taken control of the match with their cadre of spinners tying the Amazon Warriors in knots.
Other than Shai Hope who hit a sparkling 60 from 45 balls no other batter was able to get to grips with the conditions and when Gudakesh Motie fell in the 16th over to leave the Amazon Warriors 98/7 it felt like Jamaica’s game to lose.
That was until Smith and Paul produced a quite remarkable display of power hitting to blast the Amazon Warriors to an improbable total. 74 runs were plundered off the final three overs to set the Tallawahs an unlikely 179 to win.
If 179 was unlikely, Brandon King clearly did not read the script. His one-man mission to chase down the total nearly pulled off an unlikely heist.
Hitting shots all over the ground King reached an unbeaten 80 from 55 balls when the rain came down to interrupt the match.
When play resumed King marched serenely to his century but he could not see the chase home falling with three balls to spare and with that the Tallawahs hopes were extinguished.
