Pollard on TKR's eliminator vs Royals: If you blink, you're out

TRINBAGO Knight Riders will battle Barbados Royals in the eliminator to stay alive in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League at Guyana National Stadium, in Providence, Guyana on October 1 at 7 pm.

TKR ended the preliminary phase with a convincing 74-run win over Guyana Amazon Warriors on September 29. Despite the crushing win, TKR missed out on a top-two playoff spot. TKR finished third and Royals ended fourth after the preliminary phase.

First-placed Amazon Warriors will play second-placed St Lucia Kings in qualifier one on October 2 at 7 pm. The winner advances to the final on October 6.

The loser of qualifier one will play the winner of the eliminator on October 4 at 7 pm in qualifier two with the winning team moving on to the final.

In a TV post-match interview after TKR defeated Amazon Warriors, TKR captain Kieron Pollard said there is no room for any slip-up at this stage of the tournament.

“This is the opportunity now where as you make a mistake and you blink you out. If you lose that’s it,” Pollard said.

Speaking in a media conference on September 30, Pollard said qualifying for the playoffs was the aim when the tournament bowled off.

“From a Knight Riders perspective, in a tournament (when) you start you want to qualify (for the playoffs),” he said. “I think that was a step in the right direction. We have been battling a lot of injuries in our camp, but kudos to the guys the way they came out each and every time to perform under that sort of pressure, where from a selection perspective we were never quite sure who will be on the park.” Spinner Sunil Narine missed the last few games due to injury and against the Kings on September 24, Dwayne Bravo got injured while fielding. Bravo announced his retirement from cricket two days later.

The Warriors, TKR and Kings all finished the preliminary phase on the same number of points. The TKR skipper said it shows the competitiveness of the competition.

Pollard said, “I think the way how the tournament has panned out, three teams finishing on 14 points goes to show (the) strength of the other teams in the tournament as well and the cricket that has been played. We are just looking forward to the most important part of the tournament, which is the playoffs.”

Royals ended the prelims on a dismal run of form, losing their last four games.

“We played some good cricket in our first five, six games. If we are being totally honest, we fell off in our last few games,” Royals captain Rovman Powell said.

He said playing in Guyana has been challenging for his team in recent years, but this is a chance to redeem themselves. “Guyana has not been a happy hunting ground for us over the years, but this year provides an opportunity for us to change that. The mood is pretty good in the camp. We have a training session today (September 30) just to fine-tune those skills as we play a game tomorrow (October 1) against a strong Trinidadian team. We are definitely looking forward to it.”

Needing a 100-plus run win over Amazon Warriors on September 29 to clinch a top-two place, TKR were powered by their star batsman Nicholas Pooran who struck a fantastic 101 off 59 balls to help his team to a daunting score of 211 for five. In response, Amazon Warriors were limited to 137 all out in 18.5 overs.

Coming in at the end of the first over after the fall of Shaqkere Parris (duck), Pooran belted the Warriors bowlers all over the park as he slammed nine fours and eight sixes en route to his third CPL century. The left-hander was well-supported by English opening batsman Jason Roy, who contributed 34 off 26 in a 152-run partnership for the second wicket.

Needing to restrict the hosts to under 104 runs to seal the top-two spot and a place in the first qualifier, TKR were well on course by the 12th over when the Warriors slipped to 88 for eight after Waqar Salamkheil (three for 26) dismissed Dwaine Pretorius (duck).

In the space of a few deliveries, substitute fielder Bryan Charles, a replacement in the TKR squad for the retired Dwayne Bravo, dropped a pair of chances that would have seen Gudakesh Motie heading back to the pavilion with the Warriors still needing 15 runs to reach the 104-run mark.

Motie (26 not out off 28) put on a critical 49-run stand for the hosts with his skipper Imran Tahir (20 off 20) as they secured top spot in the standings despite just mustering 137 runs in the heavy defeat. Terrance Hinds led the TKR attack with three for 17, with emerging player Nathan Edward grabbing three for 19.

Summarised Scores:

TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS 211/5 (20 overs) (Nicholas Pooran 101, Jason Roy 34; Shamar Joseph 3/50) vs GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS 137 (18.5 overs) (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 36, Shai Hope 28, Gudakesh Motie 26 not out; Terrance Hinds 3/17, Nathan Edward 3/19, Waqar Salamkheil 3/26). TKR won by 74 runs.