Simmons cracks 96 as TKR win again

LENDL Simmons, who fell four runs short of a century, steered Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to their eighth victory in as many matches in the Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 tournament, on Wednesday.

Batting first, TKR scored 174 for four in 20 overs with Simmons finding form with 96 off 63 deliveries. It was the first half-century for Simmons in this year's tournament. Simmons, who was dismissed in the final over, slammed seven fours and six sixes during his knock. Darren Bravo, who combined with Simmons to put on 130 runs for the second wicket, scored 36 off 36 balls.

Fast bowler Dominic Drakes was expensive conceding 35 runs in his four overs, but he grabbed two wickets to end as the most successful Patriots bowler.

In reply, Patriots did not score boundaries as consistently as they would have liked and could only muster 115/7 in 20 overs. Chris Lynn scored 34, but it was not the typical innings from the right-hander as it lasted 46 balls.

Joshua Da Silva contributed 29, but a disciplined bowling effort by TKR led by the spinners limited the Patriots scoring rate throughout. Off-spinner Sikandar Raza was the pick of the bowlers with 3/16 in three overs. Spinners Akeal Hosein (1/15), Khary Pierre (1/28) and Pravin Tambe (1/12) all snatched one wicket apiece in their four-over spells. Dwayne Bravo, who captained TKR for the match as Kieron Pollard was rested, took 1/17 in two overs.

SUMMARISED SCORES
Trinbago Knight Riders 174/4 (20 overs) (Lendl Simmons 96, Darren Bravo 36; Dominic Drakes 2/35) vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 115/7 (20 overs) (Chris Lynn 34, Joshua Da Silva 29; Sikandar Raza 3/16) TKR won by 59 runs