By FRANCIS JOSEPH
What a terrible campaign it has been for the Trinbago Knight Riders! With just three wins from ten matches, the defending champions were dethroned on Friday night when they were defeated by six wickets by the Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence, in Guyana.
The Knight Riders needed to win on Friday night to stand a chance to get into the final four. But it was not to be. The Knight Riders could only score 126 for eight in their 20 overs. The Warriors replied with 127 for four with eight balls to spare.
Before a packed stadium, the Warriors secured their eighth win of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign and perched themselves at the top of the table. They have one preliminary match in Barbados. After the game, the Warrior players made a lap of honour, accompanied by tassa drummers, to thank the Guyanese crowd.
Thanks to Shai Hope with 42 not out and Shimron Heymeter 28, the Warriors reached their target. Batting seemed difficult when the Knight Riders batted. Justin Greaves top scored with 35. Colin Munro scored 26 and Alex Hales made 22, but the rest of the batsmen all failed.
It was the first time since 2022 that the Knight Riders failed to reach the play-offs. But the owners of the Knight Riders should now take stock of the franchise going forward.
Questions will arise: Is Dwayne Bravo the right coach? Is Nicholas Pooran the right captain? Is it time for Kieron Pollard, at age 39, to call it a day? Is it time for Sunil Narine to put away his bat and spinning fingers?
While the five matches at the Queen’s Park Oval were played before near sold out crowds, the supporters have been disappointed with the performances of the local franchise.
In three of the matches at the Oval, the Knight Riders went down by eight, nine, and seven runs respectively.
After the match, Pooran said he took full responsibility for the way he got out. He made zero. He said the team lost its way in the middle. “We need to rebuild and come better next year,” the captain added.
Pooran said emphasis will be placed on assisting the younger players to be better in the next season.
The finals will be played in Barbados next weekend.
