Akeal Hosein and Andre Russell bagged three wickets each as Guyana Amazon Warriors were bundled out for 124, and handed Trinbago Knight Riders a 26-run win at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday, ending their three-match losing streak.
Electing to field, Guyana struck early, with Romario Shepherd dismissing Tion Webster legbefore for a first-ball duck. However, Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran took the attack to the bowlers. Pooran cracked two boundaries and a six in a space of five balls in Shepherd’s next over, but the bowler eventually had the prized scalp of the southpaw who went for another flashy cut to a delivery outside off only to get a thick edge to the short third man fielder.
Munro, however, steadied the innings in the company of Tim Siefert, who was struggling to pick quick runs. The duo, nonetheless, added a run-a-ball 51 for the third wicket before the former swept Tabraiz Shamsi to the fielder at long leg. While Imran Tahir and Keemo Paul were tough to put away, combining to bowl a tidy spell of eight overs in which they conceded only 41 runs, Shamsi kept chipping away with wickets.
The left-arm spinner had Sunil Narine stumped and Kieron Pollard cleaned up after their brief blitz and Hosein dismissed to return figures of 4 for 36. Shepherd too returned to dismiss Siefert, who had tottered to a 35-ball 27. Nonetheless, smaller but critical contributions by the lower order allowed Knight Riders to post a competitive 150 for 8.
In the end, it proved to be a stiff target for Guyana, who were dented early by the loss of Paul Stirling for a three-ball duck. Even as Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer and Heinrich Klaasen got starts, they failed to impose themselves in the chase. Sunil Narine’s tidy spell in the middle overs proved to be the initial deterrent. Colin Ingram, specifically, struggled to tackle the spinner before getting caught behind off Narine.
Russell and Hosein ripped through the middle and lower order, picking three wickets apiece while Narine returned a brace as they collapsed from 81 for 3 to 100 for 9 in a space of five overs. Junior Sinclair and Shamsi attempted to put on a fight, but it was too late by then. Despite a 21-run contribution by the last wicket pair, Guyana couldn’t threaten the target, and with the loss, continue to be at the bottom of the points table.
