BY FRANCIS JOSEPH
What a terrible Independence Day for the Trinbago Knight Riders!
On a day when this country celebrated its 64th anniversary of Independence, a packed Queen’s Park Oval was hoping that the Knight Riders would get back to winning against the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
But that was not to be on Monday night. After the sun shone brightly for the Independence Day parade at the Queen’s Park Savannah, the rains came after the match had started. The loss of time reduced the match to a 16-over affair.
And oh boy!
That player Shimron Hetmeyer produced a record equalling century to take the Warriors to 185 for five off 16 hours. The TKR was then set a revised target of 182. That was always going to be tough. They lost by nine runs.
The Knight Riders replied with 172 for seven, with captain Nicholas Pooran scoring 43 from 16 balls and Alex Hales making 55 from 24, but the required rate eventually proved too steep.
After the match, Pooran said, “Yeah, it’s tough to lose. You know how T20 cricket goes. We’ve been struggling this year to put a perfect game together and get on the right side of the results, but that’s just T20 cricket.”
He continued, “It’s been very challenging for us. We’ve tried a lot of different bowlers. Obviously, Lahiru flew in yesterday from Sri Lanka and played today, which is a great effort. But we’ve struggled big time when it comes to the fast-bowling department, and we’ve paid some expensive prices there.”
The Knight Riders’ experienced spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Sunil Narine initially put the Warriors under pressure, with Glenn Phillips and Shai Hope dismissed before the rain came with Guyana 22 for two.
When play resumed, however, Hetmyer was in another world.
Playing his 100th CPL match, Hetmyer raced to 111 not out from 43 balls, with eight fours and nine sixes. He reached his hundred from only 40 deliveries to equal the fastest century in CPL history, while Romario Shepherd provided a late assault with 27 not out from seven balls. The pair combined for 85 runs from the final four overs.
The Warriors’ score gave TKR little room for error, although Pooran and Hales briefly raised hopes of a successful chase.
Pooran struck seven boundaries, including four sixes, before Mohammad Nabi claimed his wicket.
Hales then kept the Knight Riders in the contest with his 55, including seven sixes, but Shamar Joseph bowled him to leave TKR’s challenge effectively over.
Pooran also acknowledged the impact of the rain and its effect on a TKR side built heavily around spin.
He stated, “As you can see in the other games as well over the last couple of days, there’s been a lot of rain around. Our team is built around spinners, and it definitely doesn’t help when the ball gets wet and the umpires are only changing it once for us. That doesn’t help at all.”
He added: “So for us, that’s something we have to accept and try to figure out different ways around. Right now, we just haven’t found the right answer to complement our spinners.”
Pooran also remained hopeful that veteran Kieron Pollard, who missed the match, can recover in time for TKR’s next game.
He added, “Not sure, but he’s a tough guy. He’s trying his best to get back to full fitness for the next game, so we’re very optimistic that he plays. We need his experience and his skill, so I’m looking forward to seeing him back on the park as soon as possible.”
In the end, the Warriors won by nine runs to remain unbeaten with four wins from four matches. The Knight Riders have just four points from seven matches. Their final home match will be on Wednesday.
