Hero CPL t20 cricket…TKR, Zouks prevail in meaningless games

Aug 01, 2016 Sports

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By Sean Devers in Florida
In Association with Stag Beer, Noble House Seafoods, Bounty
Supermarket, Payless Varity Store & Trophy Stall

A fair size crowd made of up of mostly Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) supporters clad in Red and Black and waving T&T flags, saw TKR beat St Kitts Patriots by eight wickets in steaming heat in the first Hero CPL t20 game yesterday at the Broward Central Park in Florida after the team from Carnival Country had suffered an upset defeat to the same opponents on Friday.
The Zouks continued their good showing by defeating Jamaica Tallawahs by 17 runs in the second game on a day where the results were only of academic interest.

The Patriots batted first and by an unbeaten 60 from 40 balls with three fours and four sixes from Trinidadian Lendl Simmons and 23 each from Steven Powell and Jonathon Carter who shared in a 52-run fourth wicket stand reached 137-6 from 20 overs.
DJ Bravo captured a tournament best 4-13 from four overs for TKR who eased to their target with 18 balls to spare, finishing on 138-2. Denish Ramdin made 52 not out from 46 balls with six fours and Brendon Mcullum, who reached the boundary twice and cleared it three times in 28- ball 43, enjoyed an unbroken 72 run third wicket to see TKR leave Florida on a high.
In the other game, Andre Fletcher, with 70 from 54 balls with four boundaries, Johnson Charles,64 from 35 balls with nine sixes and two fours and Shane Watson’s belligerent unbeaten 17-ball 42 with five sixes, powered the Zouks to 194-3 from 20 overs.
Rovman Powell had 2-45 for the Tallawahs who reached 177-8 from 20 overs despite 30 from 15 balls with three fours and two sixes from Chris Gayle, 24 from Kumar Sangakkara and a 35-run partnership between Andre Russell (22) and Powell (28). Shane Shillingford had 2-30.
In the noon encounter, Kieran Powell, who flirted briefly with a baseball career, launched into Ronsford Beaton and stroked him majestically for two boundaries before clobbering a quick short ball in baseball fashion four rows back into the stand behind long-on for what some curious American youth thought was a home run and the second over cost 16.
Sunil Narine was introduced in the third over an immediately befuddled the Left handed Powell with both ways spin.
Evin Lewis, another Trini in the Patriots team, only managed a single before edging one that bounced from Bravo and was brilliantly taken at slip by William Perkins, diving to his right to leave the score on 24-1.
Faf Du Plessis was yorked by Bravo without addition to the score but Simmons hammed left-arm spinner Paul Devcich for a couple of boundaries in the over.

Powell smashed one back to Devich and he stretched out his left hand to hold a stunning return catch at 25-3, while Carter lofted left arm spinner Nikita Miller for two huge sixes in the 11th over.
However, the Bajan left-hander missed a wild swipe at Narine and was stumped at 69-4.
Simmons continued to bat attractively and along with Shamarh Brooks (17 from 17 balls) added 54 for the fifth wicket before Brooks and Devon Thomas (8) were quickly removed by Bravo whose 4-13 saw him go past Warriors’ Sohail Tanvir 18 wickets by one scalp. Narine took 1-9 from four overs.
When TKR began the reply with their fans producing a sea of red under clear blue skies, Hashim Alma (6) fell in the first over from Jeremiah Louis with just six runs on the board. The consistent Amla, who missed a match due to International duties, finished the preliminary rounds with 369 runs with three fifties.
William Perkins slammed 29 from 24 balls with four fours and a six and along with McCullum who steered Samuel Badree for four behind point.  After the second game was delayed due to Lightening, Fletcher and Charles were brutal and added 104 before Charles, who became the tournament’s leading run scorer with 408 runs, was removed by Gary Mathurin before Powell got rid of Mike Hussey (8) at 133-2.
Ramdin and McCullum played an array of scintillating shots to see their team to victory.
Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 138-2 (D Ramdin 52*, J Louis 1 for 25) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 137-6 (L Simmons 60*, DJ Bravo 4 for 13) by eight wickets with 18 balls remaining.
In the second game, Watson and Fletcher took the score to 152 before Grenadian Fletcher provided Chadwick Walton with third catch as he departed in the 18th at 152-3.
Watson exploded with a six off the final ball from Powell as the 20th over produced 18 to ensure that the last five overs produced 61 runs. Darren Sammy faced just two balls in the unfinished 42-run stand with Watson.
Gayle smashed Delorn Johnson for a four and a six and then dumped Jerome Taylor for six. He then stroked Watson for four but was taken at long-off in the same over to end his cameo and when Sangakkara departed in the 10th over at 75-3 the Tallawahs never recovered despite the stand between Russell and Powell.
The Warriors face the Tallawahs on August 3 at Warner Park in St Kitts, while the Zouks battle TKR the next day at the same venue. On August 5 the winner of TKR match oppose the loser of the Warriors game.
The final is set for August 7 with the winner of the August 5 match-up and the winner of the August 3 game.
Scores: ZOUKS 194 for three off 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 70, Johnson Charles 64, Shane Watson 42; Rovman Powell 2-45) beat TALLAWAHS 177 for six off 20 overs (Chris Gayle 30, Rovman Powell 28, Kumar Sangakkara 24, Alex Ross 23 not out; Shane Shillingford 2-30) by 17 runs.

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