After losing two games on the trot on homesoil, the Guyana Amazon Warriors destroyed the Barbados Royals in a must win Qualifier 2 fixture at the Providence National Stadium to secure a spot in the final against the St. Lucia Kings as they attempt to retain the title they won last year.
Moen Ali’s allround brilliance was the anchor of the Warrior’s juggernaut performance infront of a packed Providence stadium. After Imran Tahir won the toss and inserted the Royals to bat, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd and Ali justified his decision as they made early inroads into the Royals batting order.
Motie had the in form and dangerous Quinton de Kock caught and bowled to get the momentum going in the third over for a run a ball 15.
From 16/1, the Royals tried to stage a revival of sorts but the hard hitting Rahkeem Cornwall and youngster Kadeem Alleyne both fell without having an impact. First Cornwall was trapped LBW by Romario Shepherd for 19 after striking four fours, then Alleyne holed out for a run a ball 11 off the bowling of Ali leaving the Royals at 73/3 in the 10th over.
From there, things went downhill rapidly for the Royals. Alick Athanaze who had been quietly biding his time, went for a big hit in a bid to ease the pressure but was caught on the long on boundary by Keemo Paul to send Tahir sprinting around the Providence outfield to the delight of the Warriors fans in the very next over.
The Royals skipper Rovman Powell would make a brief sojourn with the bat, departing after he was caught off the bowling of Ali to leave his side stuttering on 87/5 in the 12th over.
Only David Miller (36) would contribute any substantial score with the bat as his teammates fell in a heap, the Royals bowled out for 148 in exactly 20 overs.
Ali finished with tidy figures of 2/24 (4 overs) while Shepherd returned 3/35 (4 overs) with Motie, Tahir and Dwaine Pretorious capturing a wicket apiece.
While the Amazon Warriors have tried atleast seven different opening combinations with the bat, they seemingly made the right call, promoting Ali to the top of the order with the Afghanistan shotgun Ramanullah Gurbaz.
The new opening partnership paid off dividends as they blasted their way to a 54 run partnership in just four overs before the aggressor Gurbaz fell for an 18-ball 40 which included two fours and four maximums.
While Gurbaz fell in the fifth over, Shai Hope, last season’s highest runscorer, turned up the heat, spanking six fours and two sixes during his 33-ball 56, sending his former franchise Barbados home for a second successive year.
Hope and Ali shared a 93-run second wicket partnership as they guided their side close to victory before Hope was bowled by a slower Yorker from youngster Ramond Simmons.
By then, it was too little too late as Ali hit the winning run with 33 balls to spare, sealing an emphatic victory.
Moen ended unbeaten on 44 (35 balls), punctuated by three fours and two sixes.
On the back of his man of the match performance, the Guyana Amazon Warriors will now have a chance to win back to back titles on homesoil as they face the St. Lucia Kings in the final on Sunday at the Providence National Stadium.
That game is scheduled to begin at 7PM.
