In an eventful start to the fixture, Bravo turned to Sunil Narine in the second over while Chris Gayle decided to tee off against Kevon Cooper in the fourth over with two big sixes. Chadwick Walton too tried to get into the act but an attempted drive away from the body was taken, after a bit of a juggle, by Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps. The clouds burst open again with the fall of the wicket, forcing the players off the field for close to 20 minutes.
When play resumed, Narine struck a sizeable blow on Tallawahs, as Kumar Sangakkara departed for just five runs. From 52 for 2 in 6 overs, Gayle's side slid further to 67 for 4 in the 10th over, with Bravo & Co. firmly in control. Bravo's first ball to Russell struck the batsman on the hand, leaving him in pain. In the following over, however, Russell showed no signs of injury as he went after 19-year-old Anderson Phillip with two successive sixes. As the drizzle returned, Russell was in the mood to hit every delivery out of the park. Ronsford Beaton conceded a four and a six off the first two balls of the 13th over before another hour-long rain break ensued. When they returned, sent the ball on top of the roof, giving a glimpse of what was to follow. Russell carted Cooper for two successive sixes in the following over, before bringing up his first half-century of the season in the 15th over - off just 23 balls.
At 130 for 4 in 15 overs, Tallawahs were set to take their total close to 175-180 run-mark, but Russell hit sixes for fun to help his side amass 65 runs off the final 30 deliveries. Beaton, who had a forgettable day after conceding 36 off his first three overs, was hit for 22 more as Russell moved to 70 off 31 balls with three big sixes off his over. Shakib al Hasan, who was playing a perfect foil for the rampaging Russell was batting merely on 19 when the 100-run stand between the two was breached in the 18th over. Cooper dismissed the Bangladesh all-rounder, but trouble was at the other end.
Russell kept swinging his willow, and scored a six and a four off Bravo to reach 94 in the penultimate over. He then carted a full delivery from Phillip for a big six to bring up his maiden T20 century, also the quickest in the history of the tournament. Russell's brutal knock, laced with three fours and 11 sixes, powered his team to 195 for 7 in 20 overs.
Defending champions Knight Riders had a stuttered start to their chase, reaching 18 for 1 in 3 overs, before another rain break came along. When play resumed more than an hour later, Dwayne Bravo's side were asked to chase a revised target of 130 from 12 overs.
Colin Munro, a man in rich vein of form, resumed his side's innings with intent as Kesrick Williams leaked 17 runs in the fourth over. However, despite the steep asking rate, the boundaries didn't come too easily as Knight Riders were constantly lagging behind the par score, given the chances of rain making another return. Munro showed glimpses of a fight but his inability to put away a full toss from Imad Wasim, led to his dismissal in the 8th over.
The stage was set for Brendon McCullum, as he walked out at No. 4 with his side needing 63 from 24 balls to advance to the final. He and Hashim Amla scored 23 runs off the next two overs, but the equation was still daunting. With 40 to get off 12, Knight Riders needed to throw their bats at everything and hope to connect well. The penultimate over, bowled by Shakib read as 4W6W1W, virtually bringing down the curtains on the Knight Riders' chase.
Russell added to his first-innings heroics by picking up two wickets in the final over, and despite Ramdin's six off the final ball, it was the Tallawahs that marched into the final where they face Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Brief Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 195/7 in 20 overs (Andre Russell 100, Chris Gayle 35; Kevon Cooper 3-45) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 110/7 in 12 overs (Colin Munro 38, Hashim Amla 37; Shakib al Hasan 3-23, Andre Russell 2-27) by 19 runs (D/L/S method)
No comments:
Post a Comment