TKR's Deyal credits Bravo for inspiring knock of 57

Trinbago Knight Riders’ (TKR) Mark Deyal credited teammate Dwayne Bravo for inspiring his player of the match knock of 57 against St Lucia Kings on Sunday, which built the foundation to set up an exciting seven-wicket win, and a confirmed spot in next week’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League T20 playoffs.

At the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, in front of a bumper crowd, Deyal and Irish right-handed batsman Lorcan Tucker (38 not out) combined for an 87-run partnership, with Andre Russell’s (29 not out) late fireworks, to chase down the Kings’ score of 167/3.

The trio led the charge and rallied to their third consecutive home victory by getting to 169/3 in 18.5 overs. The result affirmed their stance atop the standings on 13 points after nine matches.

Their current position guarantees them a top-two finish and two shots at qualifying for the September 24 final.

For this year’s tourney, Deyal has had fluctuating performances with the bat, but played a patient game on Sunday, and was able to notch his highest score (57) for the season.

After the match, he credited some earlier encouraging words from ex-TKR skipper Bravo for inspiring his fighting spirit.

“Tonight (Sunday), more responsibility was asked of myself, as we lost two (Martin Guptill, Nicholas Pooran) early wickets.

"Before the start, I had a good conversation with Dwayne and he told me that going into the rest of the tournament, he just wants to see me giving myself a little chance. Take a couple overs (to sit back and assess) because I have the ability to make up in the back end or the middle, so not to rush my cricket.

"I thought that really worked for me today. We got off to a slow start, but that partnership with myself and Tucker proved really good.”

Bravo has only featured for TKR twice this season, owing to a possible niggling injury, but seems to be making up for his absence on the pitch in the dressing room.

Sent in to bat, St Lucia were guided by Kiwi opener Colin Munro, who smashed an unbeaten 72, including three sixes and six fours.

Sean Williams finished on 34 not out and Roston Chase chipped in with 32. TKR fast bowler Jayden Seales was involved in all three dismissals as he celebrated his 22nd birthday on Sunday by claiming the first wicket, Johnson Charles (13).

He also caught Chase off spinner Waqar Salamkheil and St Lucia skipper Sikanda Raza (eight), courtesy Sunil Narine.

Set 168 for victory, TKR lost critical top-order batsmen Martin Guptill (16) and Nicholas Pooran (15), but Deyal and Lorcan kept the partisan crowd happy with a match-defining partnership.

The dismissal of Deyal only served to introduce Russell, who has been a closer for TKR this season.

Needing 30 runs from the final three overs, Tucker started with a four off Australian Peter Hatzoglou, and Russell did the rest, as his big shots sent the south venue into frenzied celebrations, with seven balls to spare.

Pacer Alzarri Joseph (2/42) topped their bowling.

TKR have one more game in their preliminary schedule remaining, against Guyana Amazon Warriors on Saturday.

After losing their first home game against Guyana Amazon Warriors last Tuesday, TKR went on to bag three consecutive wins – one at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain and two at the south venue.

Deyal said team camaraderie proved decisive and is an integral part of their journey throughout the final stages of the tournament.

“We knew coming into Trinidad how strong (we are) at home. We didn’t start well, but we have a great bunch of guys. Everyone sat down, had a good team talk, and three wins out of three – we couldn’t ask for anything better.

“The team is playing a really good brand of cricket, and at every different juncture in the games, someone is putting their hand up. Every game, someone is contributing, so it’s really great for the team going into Guyana because we have confidence in every player.”

Deyal played for St Lucia Kings for the past three years and was integral in guiding them to the finals on two occasions. They finished as runners-up twice.

Looking ahead at the final stages at Providence Stadium in Guyana, which bowls off on Wednesday with the hosts against Jamaica Tallawahs, Deyal said the mood is less tense now, having guaranteed playoff qualification.

“It’s a more relaxed mentality now, because we’re on top of the table...There’s no doubt in the ability (of the team), but it’s a good feeling going to Guyana with only one game to play. We’re not under much pressure. We’ll see what happens there.”

Teammate Lorcan wants the squad to maintain their winning momentum for their final prelim match against the Warriors on Saturday.

“The leg in Trinidad didn’t start that well, but it came our pretty well. We were a bit disappointed after the first game with how we performed. With such big support here, we should have won all four games. But it turned around pretty well and ended nicely.

“It’s just trying to be consistent. We’ve won a lot of games so far, and we’ve been in good form. It’s just (a matter of) trying to carry that throughout the rest of the tournament and not give any (other) team a sniff.”