TKR end CPL home leg with victory over Royals

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) concluded their home leg of this year’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament with a 30-run win over Barbados Royals at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on September 27.

Sent in to bat, the host franchise fought hard to post 175/7 as skipper Kieron Pollard executed a captain’s knock of 42 from 27 balls to redeem their shaky start.

In their turn at the crease, the Royals showed glimmers of brilliance in their chase but could not go all the way as they were eventually restricted to 145/9 after 20 overs.

When TKR batted, English opener Jason Roy perished without scoring just three balls into the innings, smartly bowled by Sri Lankan off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana.

Enter Nicholas Pooran, who blasted a quick-fire 27 from 15 balls before he was caught behind by Quinton de Kock attempting a big shot off Afghan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq.

New batsman Keacy Carty and opener Shaqkere Parris (five) added only two runs to the total before the latter was also caught behind by de Kock off Bajan pacer Jason Holder.

However, when Pollard joined Carty in the middle, the pair put on a solid 70-run partnership. Pollard showed no remorse with the bat as he brazenly lofted four sixes.

Carty also had a good display with the willow, spanking 32 from 34 balls, with one six and two fours. Carty, though, was also caught behind off ul-Haq.

Pollard and Andre "Muscle" Russell combined for 20 more runs before the skipper was caught by Keshav Maharaj off Theekshana.

Russell went on to score an explosive 31 from 12 while England’s Chris Jordan (13 not out) and Terrance Hinds (nine not out) completed their batting line up.

Set 176 for victory, Royals also had a rocky start after losing openers de Kock (eight) and Kadeem Alleyne (two) with just 13 runs on the board.

Alick Athanaze (44) and Kevin Wickham (23) tried to keep Royals in the contest, but the pair struggled to find the boundaries consistently. David Miller also chipped in with a credible 30 runs from 15, but the Royals could not stave off TKR’s target bowling attack.

Skipper Rovman Powell struck a tedious 18 from 20 balls, but the likes of Akeal Hosein and Chris Jordan with the ball proved superior.

In the end, Royals were restricted to less than 150 with Hosein (3/15) finishing as TKR’s pick of the bowlers alongside fast bowlers Jordan (3/33) and Terranace Hinds (2/22).

This match brought an end to TKR’s home leg which saw them win three of five matches. Their final preliminary round match bowls off at Providence Stadium in Guyana, against hosts Guyana Amazon Warriors, from 7 pm on September 29.