9.35pm #Scenes at Providence as the Patriots charge out, arms spread out triumphantly. But the man who did it, Ben Cutting, stands there with a stone-faced expression. No fist pump, no jumps, no yells. That's as sedate a celebration as there's ever been! One can only imagine what Rovman Powell must be feeling right now. One harsh call and he lost it. But, while the wide was unfair, can't lay blame on that alone. You got to hold your nerve at this level. Under pressure, a cool head on your shoulders helps. When you allow nerves to get the better of you, that is what happens. Emotions overtook after the first wide, and three more followed. No way to repair that damage on most occasions, especially when margins are this tight. Also got to feel for Glenn Phillips. Played the innings of his life, but must be devastated that it couldn't pull the team through. But that's how fickle sport can be. T20, especially, is about clinching the crucial moments, and Patriots did that tonight.
"It was always going to be a pressure game.. nerve-wracking like last night. Now we move on to Trinidad," says Chris Gayle.
Simmo: "How on earth do you bowl 4 wides in the game deciding over... clearly couldn't take the pressure"
Craig: "Patriots would have needed 9 runs off two balls had the umpire not erred in the calling that fouth delivery a wide. That bad call messed up the bowler and cost JT the game. The umpiring has been a shame." Umpiring hasn't been good, agreed, but unfair to put that down to the one call alone.
Anton Devcich is Man of the Match for steering the chase. "Glenn Phillips played an outstanding knock. We wanted to just try and get them. The ball skids on in the night. Got to give Chris and credit.. they've scored a lot of runs at this level. Just believe in yourself. In the middle it's a little bit different but I know I can always catch up."
Phew! What a finish to the evening! The thrills and nerves of T20 cricket never cease to sweep you off your feet. This was close. Both teams were in it for the most part, and then a few moments of nerves cost one of them. Anyway, Patriots move on to the second Qualifier where they meet Trinbago Knight Riders. Join us then. This is all we have from here. Thanks, as always for your comments and company. Goodbye!
Patriots one hit away
Says Peter: "Russell has taken three catches tonight, all of them on very hard, very flat and low chances, that 90% of fielders around the world would judge so poorly off the bat that they'd be content to let the ball land in front of them rather than make a belated dive and look foolish coming up short."
CR Brathwaite c Russell b Powell 6 (3b 0x4 1x6) SR: 200.00
Costly error from the bowler
PDP says, ""The only two guys I can think of that would not only be able to judge the ball off the bat that quickly but also cover that much ground in such a short amount of time to be able to come up with a sharp low catch off the boundary besides Russell are Glenn Maxwell and David Warner. Some of the most outstanding catches don't get the attention they deserve because the bulk of the work is done covering ground with the ball in the air rather than making a flashy one-hander and that was one of them by Russell."
Fourteen to defend in the final over. Powell will get that honour
END OF OVER:19 | 12 Runs 1 Wkt | STKNP: 177/7 (15 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 9.31, RRR: 15.00)
- Ben Cutting11 (8b)
- Oshane Thomas4-0-43-3
- Andre Russell4-0-28-0
E Lewis c Russell b Thomas 8 (7b 1x4 0x6) SR: 114.28
END OF OVER:18 | 4 Runs | STKNP: 165/6 (27 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.16, RRR: 13.50)
- Evin Lewis3 (4b)
- Ben Cutting4 (5b)
- Andre Russell4-0-28-0
- Oshane Thomas3-0-31-2
END OF OVER:17 | 11 Runs 2 Wkts | STKNP: 161/6 (31 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 9.47, RRR: 10.33)
- Evin Lewis2 (1b)
- Ben Cutting2 (2b)
- Oshane Thomas3-0-31-2
- Andre Russell3-0-25-0
AP Devcich c †Phillips b Thomas 50 (23b 5x4 2x6) SR: 217.39