Shai Hope clobbered five boundaries and five huge sixes in his 37-ball 71-run knock at number three. At one point, when Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were in full flow and displaying some mouth-watering strokeplay it very much looked like a bigger total would be in the offing for the Warriors but after the two experienced hands fell before the end (for 71 off 37 balls and 57 off 34 balls respectively) the Royals managed to peg the defending champions back in the final five overs.
A disciplined bowling performance, following berserk half-century knocks from Shai Hope (71) and Shimron Hetmyer (57), helped Guyana Amazon Warriors strengthen their bid for a top-two finish with a 47-run hammering of Barbados Royals in a high-scoring encounter at home.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report: Talking about the dimensions, straight it’s a 75m hit and we are bang in the middle of the square, 67m on either side. There’s a bit of grass here. On the good length area, there’s a bit of grass that is rolled in. So, it’s going to play a bit better than the last four games that have been played here. Expect turn and skiddy pace, reckons Pommie Mbangwa
Barbados Royals skipper Rovman Powell won the toss and chose to field with five overseas players in his playing XI. Guyana Amazon Warriors skipper Imran Tahir batting first included emerging player like Junior Sinclair in his playing XI.
Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer powers GAW to 219 to 8 in 20 overs
Maheesh Theekshana provided a breakthrough in the opening over itself after Royals opted to bowl first, but Azam Khan combined with Shai Hope for a 51-run partnership in under five overs to help them recover in the powerplay. Jason Holder came to Royals’ rescue to break the threatening stand but that brought Hetmyer to the crease and was the start of his century partnership with Hope.
The pair went hammer and tongs through the middle overs phase, not letting any of the bowlers settle in, barring a miserly spell from Theekshana. The Warriors’ 100 was up in just 9.4 overs and the relentless attack never stopped. Rovman Powell was welcomed with a 25-run over with the Warriors pair carting him for three maximums in it. Hetmyer brought up his fifty first, on 29 balls, while Shai Hope got there two balls later in the same over.
Over the next three overs, Warriors lost four middle-order wickets including both the set batters, but a few lusty blows down the order from Romario Shepherd helped the team cross 200 mark n the penultimate over before eventually finishing with 219.
Guyana Amazon Warriors lost both overseas openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (seven off five) and Azam Khan (26 off 17) to Maheesh Theekshana and Jason Holder respectively inside the first six overs of the match. At 59-2, middle-order stars Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer batted out the subsequent nine overs to take the Warriors past the 150-run mark.
Both Shai Hope and Hetmyer clubbed sparkling half-centuries from their ends during their 106-run partnership, with the latter cracking 57 of those from just 34 balls with four boundaries and three sixes. Their blazing stand was halted by Keshav Maharaj at 165-3 in the 15th over.
Shai Hope clobbered five boundaries and five huge sixes in his 37-ball 71-run knock at number three. His dismissal to Maheesh Theekshana dried up the runs for the Warriors to some extent in the final five overs. Theekshana himself and Obed McCoy (1-44) picked up key wickets at the death with the former finishing his spell with astonishing figures of 3-15. The Guyana Amazon Warriors eventually mounted 219-8 by the end of their innings.
Moeen Ali and other spinners bowls Guyana Amazon Warriors to 47 runs victory over Barbados Royals
Royals lost two in quick succession upfront before Quinton de Kock switches gears in the fifth over which cost 21 runs. Even so, their powerplay total was just 46/2 and the scoreboard pressure took its toll.
Moeen Ali struck in his second over to get rid of de Kock with the help of a review, Imran Tahir then nipped out two in succeeding overs and with a lot of spin deployed, Royals soon fell behind the eight ball. Moeen wrapped up his middle-overs spell with mighty impressive figures of 2-1 while Motie had 3 for 42, his returns spoilt by the Miller attack after his team was down to the point of no return.
Fending with the last wicket, just as death overs approached, Miller brought out the audacious hitting with Dwaine Pretorius in particular copping some serious punishment but it came all too late for Royals who could only crawl to 172/9 after losing batters in a heap through the middle overs. In a massive chase of 220, Royals had slipped to 95/8 in 14 overs but David Miller saved them the humiliation with a brutal 34-ball 71 not out before running out of overs, and partners.
Chasing 220, Barbados Royals lost opener Kadeem Alleyne and number three Alick Athanaze to Gudakesh Motie and Dwaine Pretorius respectively within the first four overs of the innings.
In-form South African Quinton de Kock stroked his way to a swift 23-ball 35 and shared a 46-run counterattacking partnership with Rivaldo Clarke for a while, before both were removed in the space of two deliveries by Moeen Ali and Imran Tahir as the Royals crashed to 79-4 at the halfway stage of the run-chase.
From 79-4 in 10 overs, it did not take long for the Barbados Royals to become 95-8 and eventually to 123-9 to squander all hopes of a successful chase in the 16th over itself. Guyana Amazon Warriors spinners Gudakesh Motie (3-42), Moeen Ali (2-16) and Imran Tahir (2-22) collectively claimed seven of the nine Royals wickets to fall by that stage of the innings.
Amidst tumbling wickets, number five batter David Miller matched Shai Hope shot-for-shot by pounding 71 unbeaten runs from just 34 deliveries. Bludgeoning eight boundaries and five sixes in the process, Miller’s top-scoring act merely reduced Barbados Royals’ (172-9) losing margin as the Warriors claimed the two points on offer by 47 runs.
David Miller offered some resistance in the Royals middle order and played some audacious strokes at the back end to take him to a battling half century but wickets continuously fell all around him as the Warriors spin attack used the scoreboard pressure to their advantage and piled on the pain. A score of 172/9 at the close meant the Royals finished comfortably short and the Warriors were never in trouble.
Moeen Ali continued his fine tournament with the ball by claiming 2/16 and fellow spinner Gudakesh Motie was more expensive but pocketed three wickets. The Warriors are finding form in both departments as the competition heads into its final phase. David Miller’s pyrotechnics once the result had effectively been decided meant the final scorecard wasn’t as grim as it could have been for the Royals but they have plenty to put right after a chastening defeat to their fellow title hopefuls.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Imran Tahir the winning skipper said : It was a good game, the boys batted well, they set-up the win with a good score. Hetmyer and Hope did well, Azam did give us a good start. It was a bit difficult with the ball, dew set in after 12 overs and made things hard.
Bowling with the wet ball was a concern, but Moeen, Motie and even Junior Sinclair, he has bowled well when given a chance, nice to lead this team. This pitch did offer a bit of spin, but was nice to see how our batters played.
We know Hetty and Hope can take apart any team on their day, in the beginning (of the home cycle), we had struggled to adjust, but we’re doing well. He played really well (on David Miller), we know what he can do, congrats on his 500th T20 game, we know he’s a class player. He was also a bit lucky that dew set in, Sinclair was our match-up against him, I wanted to bowl him, but he got injured. Shamar Joseph had a flu and that’s the reason he missed out on tonight’s game.
Rovman Powell the losing skipper said : Credit to be given to the Guyanese, they came out firing and totally outplayed us today, supported by the crowd. To play 500 games, you need to be doing something right (on David Miller). He’s a very important player not just for South Africa, but across the leagues around the world. To find some form going into the playoffs is good.
Winning does bring confidence to the group, but this loss doesn’t mean it’s down. We have a few plans, we know the type of team we’ll play in the play-offs and the real cricket starts next week, we’ll be ready for that.
Shai Hope for his 71 runs is Player of the Match said : I would say runs on the board, had a different game-plan today, there’s always a different buzz when I play against the Royals. (On his strategy against left-arm spin) I won’t say a big difference, it’s about the intent, was a bit surprised that they brought spin on in the powerplay, I just try to be up for the challenge and be ready.
I think they go hand in hand, to be the best you have to be mentally strong and back it up with your skill. In conditions like these, you have to think how to get runs and rotate strike. (On batting with Hetmyer) One thing to say is that we complement each other well, he is one of the guys who enjoys his batting. He knows when to pull the trigger and he batted really well.
As a contest, this was as one-sided as it gets, but David Miller’s 34-ball 71* has helped his team avoid utter humiliation. A 47-run loss in a T20 game is a proper hammering, but it could have been so much worse for the Royals when they slipped to 95 for 8. Chasing 220, they needed a good start, but they lost two wickets early.
Quinton de Kock did manage 35 and did keep them in the hunt for a while, but the introduction of spin derailed the chase completely. In no time, they were reduced from 63 for 2 to 95 for 8 and the match was a foregone conclusion. Motie took 3 wickets, Moeen and Tahir got 2 each as they ran circles around Barbados’ middle-order.
They did step off the pedal towards the end, giving their pacers some workload and that allowed Miller to play the kind of innings that he’s renowned for. Still a 3rd straight loss for the Royals and they will be worried at the lack of runs from their middle-order.
A big win and the Amazon Warriors are in pole position to grab one of the top-two finishes. They still have 2 games at home and they’ll look to solidify their position. Worrying times for the Royals Three losses on the bounce, all three coming at a venue which will host the play-offs. Rovman Powell didn’t sound too despondent though, they know their chances of finishing in the top-2 is all but over, but they’ll be happy to go out of Guyana and onto Trinidad for their last league match which will be held on the 27th morning.
Guyana Amazon Warriors helped their chances of securing a top two finish in the 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) by inflicting a 47-run defeat on Barbados Royals. The Royals would have been hopeful for a top of the table finish too given their earlier form in the competition but a third defeat for them in recent matches means they may have to settle for third or fourth place and a harder path to the title.