TKR, Pollard make winning start

Shah Rukh Khan got to see his team, the Trinbago Knight Riders, win live for the first time this evening in a thriller at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain.
TKR started their quest for a third straight Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title, with an 11-run victory over the Kitts/Nevis Patriots.

The TKR, who were sent in to bat first by Patriots' captain Carlos Brathwaite, posted a useful score of 152 runs for the loss of seven wickets with stand-in captain Kieron Pollard topscoring with 47 off 32 balls, while Jimmy Neesham and Denesh Ramdin each struck 33.

Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell was the pick of the Patriots' attack with three wickets for 13 runs off his allotted four overs, and veteran pacer Rayad Emrit claimed 3/39.

The Patriots got off to a good start with TT-born left-handed openers Kjorn Ottley and Evin Lewis putting on a stand of 47 in 7.2 overs, but once Ottley was removed for 25, wickets followed at regular intervals and the Patriots were dismissed for 141 in 19.4 overs.

Lewis was the leading scorer with 36, with Fabian Allen hitting 30 and Pakistan-born Usama Mir 24. Neesham (3/18) and Hasnain (3/36) were the leading wicket-takers for the TKR.

Tomorrow's action will feature the Guyana Amazon Warriors against the St Lucia Zouks at the Providence Stadium, Guyana from 6 pm, with the TKR returning to the Oval to entertain the Jamaica Tallawahs on Friday, from 8 pm.