Sunil Narine's magnificent all-round performance helped Trinbago Knight Riders defeat Guyana Amazon Warriors in the opening match of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 in Trinidad this Tuesday (August 18).
In a game reduced to 17 overs per side due to rain, Narine returned with bowling figures of 2/19 in four overs to first restrict the Warriors to 144/5 and then smashed a 28-ball 50 as an opener in the run-chase to lay the foundation for his team's four-wicket victory. He was awarded the 'Player-of-the-Match'.
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Narine's starring act was provided able support by pacer Ali Khan (3/21) and Darren Bravo (30).
For the Warriors, Shimron Hetmyer (63*) struck a half-century and Ross Taylor (33) batted well for his cameo. But in the end, their efforts went in vain because of Narine, who was superb throughout the match.
Naveen-ul-Haq (2/21) was the pick of the bowlers among the Guyanese, but the rest of the attack failed to do much once Narine got going.
While wickets in the middle through Navin, Romario Shephard (1/30) and Imran Tahir (2/40) did hold back the Knight Riders, they were still able to recover and sail through home at the end.
Guyana Amazon Warriors 144/5 in 17 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 63*, Ross Taylor 33; Sunil Narine 2/19) lost to Trinbago Knight Riders 147/6 in 16.4 overs (Sunil Narine 50, Darren Bravo 30; Naveen-ul-Haq 2/21) by four wickets.
In the second match of the day, Barbados Tridents edged out St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by six runs in a thrilling a 20-over encounter.
Quickfire thirties K Mayers (37) and skipper Jason Holder (38), as well as a lower-order cameo from Rashid Khan (26*), took Tridents to fighting but far from intimidating total of 153/9 after losing the toss and being put in to the bat first.
Sohail Tanvir (2/25), Sheldon Cottrell (2/16), and Rayad Emrit (2/16) bowled really for the Patriots.
In the second half, however, Rashid Khan (2/27) and Mitchell Santner (2/18) outdid them to ensure victory by a thin margin for their team.
After a decent start from openers Chris Lynn (17) and Evin Lewis (12), Joshua da Silva (41*) and Ben Dunk (34) tried taking the game deep. But an inspiring bowling performance from the Tridents meant they never really got on top. Tanvir (16*) tried replicating what Rashid provided at the closing stages to Tridents, but couldn't take his team through.
Barbados Tridents 153/9 in 20 overs (Jason Holder 38, K Mayers 37; Sohail Tanvir 2/25, Sheldon Cottrell 2/16) beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 147/5 in 20 overs (Joshua da Silva 41*, Ben Dunk 34; Rashid Khan 2/27, Mitchell Santner 2/18) by six runs
