TKR take on Falcons as quest for fifth CPL title resumes

FOUR-TIME Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) resume their quest for a historic fifth crown when they go up against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons at North Sound Cricket Ground in Antigua on September 5 from 7pm.

Fresh off a commanding 44-run victory over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in their opening match on August 31, TKR aim to maintain a winning momentum heading into their round two contest.

However, the Falcons have had a flightless start so far, losing their first match against the Patriots and second against Guyana Amazon Warriors on August 28 and 29 respectively. The home team will be hoping to make amends but faces an uphill trek against an in-form TKR outfit.

In their first match of the season, TKR sounded an early warning by posting the tournament’s third-highest score – 250/4 – courtesy a scintillating knock of 97 runs from 43 balls from wicketkeeper/batsman Nicholas Pooran.

His fireworks with the bat combined with Keacy Carty’s unbeaten 73 constructed a stern 122-run partnership, and was the core of TKR’s aggression. Pooran slammed nine sixes and seven fours while Carty launched three sixes and nine fours.

When Pooran struck his sixth six, he became the batter to achieve the most T20 sixes in a calender year, after he surpassed Chris Gayle’s 135. The TT batsman now leads the global standings with 139 T20 sixes in a calender year.

Opener Sunil Narine also chipped in with 38 runs from 19 balls, and was the pick of the bowlers with his haul of 2/24, when restricting Patriots to 206/8 later on. TKR’s Irish fast bowler Josh Little (2/40) and Afghan debutant Waqar Salamkheil (2/41) also had good contributions with the ball.

Pooran’s heroics also inspired TKR head coach Phil Simmons to challenge him to break the tournament’s most runs in a season record. New Zealander Colin Munro leads the most runs in a season category, courtesy his stellar 567 runs achieved for TKR in the 2018 edition.

Falcons, on the other hand, had strong knocks from Jewel Andrew (50 not out), Pakistani Fakhar Zaman (43) and Kofi James (22) in their opening match against Patriots while Shamar Springer (4/29) and Roshon Primus (2/21) topped the bowling, despite losing.

In their second match against Warriors, Zaman and Imad Wasim scored 40 each while James chipped in with 37 and Chris Green (2/32), Wasim (2/28) and Springer (2/42) were the best bowlers.