Guyana Amazon Warriors have entered the final of CPL 2016 after they defeated the Jamaica Tallawahs in the first playoff game at the Warner Park Stadium in Basseterre on Wednesday. Warriors, yet again, came up with an all-round performance to get the better of the Tallawahs.
It rained throughout the morning and afternoon in Basseterre and the match was in jeopardy, with no reserve day as well. If the match was called off, the Warriors would have gone through automatically as they had topped the CPL 2016 points table.
However, the rain Gods showed some respite and the match took place in an half-empty stadium on Wednesday.
Warriors skipper Rayad Emrit won the toss and asked the Tallawahs to bat first on a wicket, which was slow right from the start.
Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton got off to a rather slow start but both batsmen got out at the wrong time. Gayle (33, 36b) played an innings very unlike his nature even if the skipper turned out to be the highest scorer of their innings.
No other batsmen could withstand the pressure exerted by the Warriors bowlers and they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. The Tallawahs only managed to reach a total of 146 for the loss of eight wickets in their 20 overs.
Sohail Tanvir (4-0-24-2) was, yet again, the pick of the bowlers for the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Emrit (4-0-30-3) too continued his good form with the ball, at his favourite hunting ground. Adam Zampa, Chris Barnwell and Veerasammy Permaul also picked up a wicket each.
However, Warriors did not get off to a good start in their run chase. They lost early wickets and were in all sorts of trouble. Chris Lynn stepped up yet again with the bat and orchestrated the run chase. He played a slow innings but it was crucial for the Warriors that he batted through. Unfortunately, Lynn (49, 47b, 1x4, 3x6) too was dismissed.
Tanvir and Emrit finished things off in style. Tanvir (21 n.o., 13b, 2x6) looked in a hurry to get his side into the final of the tournament.
The Tallawahs bowling attack tried hard, but they could not restrict the Warriors in the end. Kesrick Williams (4-0-37-4) was the best bowler for the Tallawahs. Andre Russell and Garey Mathurin also picked up a wicket each.
At the end, the Warriors reached the target with two balls and four wickets to spare.
Tallawahs still have a chance of making it into the final, as they now will play the winner of the Eliminator between St Lucia Zouks and the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders.
