Imran Tahir won the toss and elected to insert the Kings. The defending champions put in another impressive performance with the ball, Imran Tahir claiming 3/29 and Player of the Match Gudakesh Motie taking 3/13 as the Kings failed to recover from a PowerPlay that saw them reduced to 43/4. Some lower order striking from Matthew Forde managed to haul the Kings to three figures exactly but the Warriors made extremely short work of the target.
Gudakesh Motie (3-16) and Imran Tahir (3-29) starred with three-fers as Guyana Amazon Warriors bundled out Saint Lucia Kings for 100 and secured a comfortable 6-wicket victory chasing the humble target. Rahmanullah Gurbaz shone with the bat yet again with a fiery 19-ball 47 that helped visitors polish off the chase in merely half the time.
Pitch and Toss
62m and 63m straight boundary, 74m straight boundary, there are some dark clouds around, there has a bit of sprinkle around , the pitch though looks hard, the grass covering will ensure that the ball comes nicely onto the bat. This is a high scoring ground as seen in the recent WC’, reckons Samuel Badree, in his pitch report.
Guyana Amazon Warriors skipper Imran Tahir have won the toss and have opted to field with Tim Robinson coming in from New Zealand, and another change in the playing XI. Saint Lucia Kings skipper Faf Du Plessis who also wanted to bowl first made no changes in his playing XI.
Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie takes 3 wickets a piece as Saint Lucia Kings was all out for paltry 100 runs
On a spicy pitch at Gros Islet, Kings’ batters lacked application. Johnson Charles (19 off 13) and Ackeem Auguste managed a brief partnership of 20 after the early wicket of skipper Faf du Plessis, but the second half of the powerplay spelt more trouble. Auguste was run out by Motie, and Keemo Paul got rid of the other set batter and the dangerous Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the space of three balls to leave the Kings reeling at 43/4 inside the powerplay.
Wickets continued to fall as Imran Tahir joined the party, removing Roston Chase and David Wiese cheaply, reducing the hosts to 49/6 in no time. In a 45-run stand that followed, Matthew Forde put up some resistance with a 21-ball 31 that was the best batting effort of the day from the Kings. Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie, however, took little time to clean up the tail once the latter had dismissed the Kings’ top-scorer to break the stubborn stand.
The Warriors won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision that would pay off handsomely. The Kings struggled to establish momentum in their innings, finishing at 100 runs for the loss of two wickets in 14.3 overs. The Kings’ batting lineup faced a challenging day, with only Matthew Forde managing to make a significant impact, scoring 31 runs off 21 balls, including three fours and two sixes.
Faf Du Plessis, the Kings’ captain, started the innings but could only muster six runs. Johnson Charles, the experienced West Indies batter, contributed 19 runs, while Ackeem Auguste added 10 runs. The middle order faltered, with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Roston Chase and Tim Seifert all failing to convert their starts into substantial scores.
The Warriors won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision that would pay off handsomely. The Kings struggled to establish momentum in their innings, finishing at 100 runs for the loss of two wickets in 14.3 overs. The Kings’ batting lineup faced a challenging day, with only Matthew Forde managing to make a significant impact, scoring 31 runs off 21 balls, including three fours and two sixes.
The bowling attack of the Warriors was led by Gudakesh Motie, who was instrumental in dismantling the Kings’ batting order. He claimed three wickets for just 16 runs in 3.3 overs, earning him the Player of the Match award. Imran Tahir also shone with the ball, taking three wickets for 29 runs in his four overs, while Keemo Paul contributed with two wickets.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz quickfire 47 runs made a mockery of 100 runs target as Warriors ease of to the 6 wickets win
Rahmanullah Gurbaz lit up the Saint Lucia sky with sixes as he struck 47 runs off just 19 balls that included not a single four but saw seven sixes clear the ropes.
Gurbaz eventually fell with just nine more runs needed for victory, pinned lbw by Noor Ahmad attempting a reverse-sweep that would have brought him a rapid fifty. Noor also bowled Tim Robinson but not before the Warrior’s debutant opener had got the chase off to a breezy start with 33 off 20 deliveries – including a deliciously driven lofted six down the ground.
A fired up Alzarri Joseph had Azam Khan caught at short third and was thrilled with the wicket. Joseph then greeted Shimron Hetmyer with a stare and another short delivery but Hetmyer launched the next ball high and long over mid-on for six and then scampered the winning runs off the next over to have the decisive final say.
With a modest target to chase, Warriors started briskly with the openers putting on a 62-run stand in merely 5.1 overs before Tim Robinson’s fireworks were cut short on 33 off 20 deliveries. Gurbaz, though, was even more brutal in his approach, hammering seven sixes in his 19-ball cameo of 47 that set the tone for the easy chase.
Chasing a modest target of 101 runs, the Warriors began their innings with confidence. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the standout performer, smashing an explosive 47 runs off just 19 balls, which included an astonishing seven sixes. His aggressive batting set the tone for the chase, as he dominated the Kings’ bowling attack.
Tim Robinson provided solid support, scoring 33 runs off 20 balls, while Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer chipped in with 11 and 8 runs, respectively. The Warriors reached their target in just 10 overs, finishing at 101 for 4. The Kings’ bowlers struggled to contain the run flow, with Noor Ahmad being the only bright spot, taking three wickets for 22 runs in his four overs.
Noor Ahmad was the only of the Kings’ bowlers to show some control, evident from his 4-0-22-3 but 100 was too small a total for him to pull off a miracle. Despite the late hiccups, Warriors only ever needed 10 overs to complete the formalities and make it three in three.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Faf Du Plessis the loosing skipper said : Extremely disappointing. It was a bit tacky. Needed to assess the conditions and play accordingly. The score was well under par. It was always tough to defend 100. It is about assessing the conditions for me. The wicket was a little bit under the covers. There was some nip in the first few overs. We have two tough games in a row. We will look at our team combinations. Most of the wickets that we lost were our batters giving it away.
Imran Tahir the winning skipper said : I am just happy that it came out nicely. Everyone did their job. First the seamers. Then Motie came in. Nice to get the results in our favour. We have a week off and we deserve this. We will chill. Take a few days off and then get back at it again. We have been grateful to our fans. Their support is important. Thank you very much for the support.
Gudakesh Motie the Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said : I knew I could run before he could come back (on the run-out). It was a good batting wicket, the outfield was wet and was difficult to keep the ball dry. I’m happy with the way I’m bowling right now, have put in the hard work and getting success. He is bowling really well, putting the ball in the right area and getting turn from the wicket (on Imran Tahir).
Guyana Warriors have smashed the Kings today. The right word is pulverized. First with the ball as they skittled them out for exactly a 100 runs. Then Gurbaz led the batting charts as they went hell for leather and finished off the job in 10 overs. The boundary(mostly six) hitting festival lasted few minutes as Guyana wanted to boost their NRR. None of the bowlers could contain the Guyana batters as they had a definite plan. It seemed they were batting on a featherbed as compared to the Kings.
Guyana have picked up three wins from three games now. They are sole leaders on the table now. They look dangerous thanks to the quality of the batting that they have got. It would be interesting to see how teams size them up from here on. The Kings hadn’t lost one prior to this one. But they would want to bounce back quickly.
Early trends show, Guyana will be the team to beat. Today was a contest between two sides who came in undefeated but the Kings came a cropper against a spirited Guyana unit. The Warriors had everything clicking for them, even the toss. The moist conditions favored them and they made good use of bowling first. The bowlers set up the game and the batters obliged with some breathtaking display at the top.
Guyana Amazon Warriors, defending champions of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), put in a swaggering performance to claim three wins in three games to sit at the head of the standings after ten games of this year’s tournament. Their opponents, Saint Lucia Kings, suffered their first loss of the 2024 tournament on what for them was a chastening night at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet. A thumping six wicket win with 10 overs to spare was a real statement of intent from the Warriors.
It was a day to forget for the Kings but one to savor for the Warriors, Barbados Royals are the only other side that remain unbeaten in this year’s competition.