Guyana Amazon Warriors have lost another Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final.
Playing in their fifth CPL final in seven years, the Amazon Warriors lost to Barbados Tridents by 27 runs at the Brian Lara Stadium in South Trinidad last Saturday night.
Chasing 172 for victory, the Amazon Warriors lost wickets regularly and could only reach 144 / 9 in 20 overs. It was a heart-breaking loss for the Amazon Warriors.
The Amazon Warriors went into the finals on a high winning 11 consecutive matches.
It was Tridents second title, after winning the crown in 2014 in a rematch with the Amazon Warriors under the leadership of Kieron Pollard.
Pollard was made leader of the Trinbago Kinght Riders (TKR) in place of regular captain Dwayne Bravo for this tournament, who suffered a hand injury before the start of the preliminary rounds.
Amazon Warriors captain Shaoib Malick acknowledged his team’s difficulty in getting over the line in previous campaigns (2013, 2013, 2016 and 2018) which was expected to be a tough battle in the final against a team which he has been a part of in the past.
The Tridents booked their place in the final after whipping the three-time champions TTKR by 12 runs in the semi-final two days before at the same venue.
The Tridents won the toss and decided to take first strike and openers Alex Hayles and Johnson Charles, flying out of the boxes, hammered 43 runs by the sixth over before Hales was out for 28. At the innings break, Tridents were 73 for 3 after 9.3 overs.
It soon became 90 / 5 in the 13th over as Shai Hope was caught at midwicket for 8 and captain Jason Holder’s miserable run with the bat continued as he was run out for one.
A mix up between Jonathan Carter and Shakib Al Hassan led to the run of the latter for 15 as Tridents were now desperate for a partnership on 108 / 6 in the 15 over.
Carter and semi-finnal hero Ashley Nurse responded by putting on an unbroken stand of 63 runs to guide Tridents to a competitive 171 / 6.
The pair cracked 45 runs in the last three overs. Carter ended on 50 not out off 27 deliveries by wicketkeeper Hope. The Amazon Warriors get did not get the start the Tridents got as Hemraj Chanderpaul (one), Shimron Hetmyer (nine) and captain Malik (four) all fell cheaply to leave the last year’s finalists tottering at 53 / 3 in the eight over.
Despite wickets falling around him, Brandon King, the tournament’s leading run scorer, held the innings together with the help of new batsman Nicholas Pooran but the run rate was climbing.
Trying to up the run rate King went down the wicket to lift off-spinner Raymond Reifer over the boundary and was stumped.
This left the Warriors struggling on 104 / 6 in the 16th over. Warriors limped to 144 for 9 in 20 overs.
