CHENNAI, India, CMC – ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup-bound, West Indies duo of Rovman Powell and teammate Shimron Hetmyer failed to fire against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) – and Rajasthan Royals lost by 36 runs in the preliminary final of the Indian Premier League yesterday.
Powell, the West Indies captain for the World Cup, made only six, and left-hander Hetmyer got only four, and the Royals failed to successfully chase a target of 176 in the penultimate match of the lucrative T20 tournament at the Chidambaram Stadium.
Instead, SRH rode a half-century from South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen, and destructive bowling from Impact Player Shahbaz Ahmed and fellow left-arm spinner left-arm spinner Abishek Sharma to victory and a place in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday at the same venue. The KKR line-up includes World Cup-bound West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and retired West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine.
Hetmyer came to the crease with half of the Royals batting down after Ahmed undermined the top order – and 97 was required from 50 balls – but he was bowled by Sharma in the 14th over to cue the big-hitting Powell to try to conjure up a thrilling finish.
Royals required 84 from 38 balls when the West Indies T20 World Cup captain arrived, but he was a silent partner in a tidy seventh wicket stand of 32 with top scorer Dhruv Jurel before he was caught at deep mid-wicket off left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan in the 18th over.
Dhruv Jurel was not out on 56 from 35 balls, but the Royals chase ran out of steam down the stretch, and Ahmed ended with three for 23 from his allotted four overs to earn the Player-of-the-Match award, and Sharma supported with two for 24 from his four overs.
Earlier, Klaasen, who is missing the three-match series between South Africa and West Indies in Jamaica like Powell, Hetmyer, and Russell, cracked four sixes in 50 from 34 balls to revive the chances of SRH after they were put in to bat and stumbled to 99 for four at the halfway stage.
He controlled the momentum in the second half of the innings before pacer Sandeep Sharma bowled him in the penultimate over. Avesh Khan was the pick of the Royals bowlers taking three for 27 from four overs, World Cup-bound New Zealand left-arm pacer Trent Boult bagged three for 45 from four overs, and Sandeep ended with two for 25 from four overs.
