Knight Riders ready for any rival

TRINBAGO Knight Riders (TKR) captain Dwayne Bravo said it is important to have players who can fill gaps, after the team had to make the decision to move opener Sunil Narine down the batting order against the Guyana Amazon Warriors because of a tooth problem.

TKR thrashed the Amazon Warriors by 67 runs at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday night, to take control of top spot in the Hero Caribbean Premier League standings with two matches to go before playoffs start. Narine, who has opened for TKR for the entire season with no success, made room for the in-form Colin Munro to open. Munro, who has the most runs in the tournament with 436, struck 90 off 56 deliveries with 10 fours and four sixes to lead TKR to 170 for seven batting first. Amazon Warriors were then dismissed for 103 in 17.4 overs to give TKR two easy points.

After the match, TKR captain Dwayne Bravo discussed Narine’s demotion.

“This morning (Wednesday) we had to rush him to the hospital. He had to take out a tooth today (Wednesday)...we removed him from opening just to give him more time to rest and come into the game,” he said.

Bravo said he is elated to have players that can step up in other roles. “Munro went up the order – a typical knock from him – and Ramdin batted at number three, so we have players who can fill gaps. Yes he (Narine) did not open, but that is part of it, and like I said, I have a team with players who could fill gaps at any time.”

Khary Pierre and Anderson Phillip have not been playing consistently in the tournament, but Bravo said it is great to have capable players he could call on at anytime depending on the team’s strategy. Left-arm spinner Pierre snatched 2/21 in four overs to help limit the Amazon Warriors reply.

Bravo said, “It is good to have these kind of players in your team, so as a captain it’s good to know that I could call on any individual at any point in time and I trust in them. I trust in their ability and I am happy that they are doing well because they are the future.”

Amazon Warriors captain Rayad Emrit acknowledged his team’s batting was below par. “We just did not show up with the bat tonight. I think we did well to restrict them to 170 after the start they got. The crucial thing was the partnerships, we did not get any partnerships at all while we were batting, so I think that let us down big time,” Emrit said.

Munro scored his fifth half century in eight innings to lead TKR to 170/7.

After Chris Lynn fell for duck, TKR seemed set to get close to 200 as they progressed to 123/1 after 14 overs. However, when Denesh Ramdin fell for 39 with the score on 136 in the 16th over, TKR struggled to find fluency for the rest of the innings. The second wicket partnership between Munro and Ramdin was worth 135 runs. Munro could not get to triple figures, caught by Chris Green running in from long on off fast bowler Romario Shepherd.

Brendon McCullum (two) and Darren Bravo (nine) fell in quick succession to leave TKR 150/5 in the 19th over. Javon Searles (eight) and captain Dwayne (12 not out) put on 20 for the sixth wicket before Searles fell. Narine, in his new role, was out for a golden duck in the last ball of the innings. Fast bowler Sohail Tanvir, who only conceded six runs in the last over of the innings, ended with figures of 3/27 in four overs and Shepherd grabbed 3/29 in three overs.

In reply, the Amazon Warriors innings never got going as they lost wickets regularly and were dismissed for 103 in 17.4 overs. The Amazon Warriors top order did not deliver as Luke Ronchi (duck), Chadwick Walton (four) and Shimron Hetmyer (11) all fell cheaply to leave Guyana in trouble on 21/3 in the fourth over. Amazon Warriors never recovered, with only Jason Mohammed’s 27 and an unbeaten 36 from Roshon Primus offering resistance. The five bowlers used by Dwayne all took at least one wicket, with fast bowler Ali Khan leading the way with 3/22.