Sangakkara's 74* outclasses winless Stars
Jamaica Tallawahs' six-wicket win pushed them one victory away from their fifth consecutive playoffs berth
Jamaica Tallawahs' six-wicket win pushed them one victory away from their fifth consecutive playoffs berth
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Alagappan Muthu
That's all we have for you. Thanks for your company and hopefully you'll join us again as the tournament rolls on.
11.45 pm Sanga's the Man of the Match. He's firmed up the Tallawahs' third place, taking them to 10 points, six clear of the fourth placed Guyana Amazon Warriors.
"Just trying to keep my focus on the present, taking it ball by ball," he says. "I thought Phillips did well for us, Simmons did well up top. But Andree McCarthy has been outstanding for us, showing a lot of poise. Made it easy for me. But it was about breaking the game down, and keeping the run-rate under 10. I didn't want to leave the chase till late, but we got here because of our bowlers. We made it harder with dropped catches, but I thought Mathurin was brilliant. So was Cornwall, he turned the ball big
"Mathurin bowled a really good spell, and the key was getting Watson out. He was taking the game away from us with his fifty. The cathcing has been well below par, we've missed a lot of catches, a lot of teams have missed a lot of catches and the key is to keep focus and not let the mind wander. You can't think about the crowd, as a bowler, when you're not bowling, you have to think about the ball coming to you, and not about the next over"
"It was a good score on that wicket, it was a little slow and holding up a little bit," says Shane Watson. "Some positives for us though. McCoy was really good, his slower balls are brilliant. So was Cornwall, he's a great talent. Kyle Mayers is a quality allrounder and he's a super fielder too. A lot of catching doesn't come down to skill, it's about being alert. There's no question that the lighting is an issue, the lights are a little low so when the ball goes high it kind of pops out of nowhere"
11.40 pm So the Stars remain winless, and they only have themselves to blame, dropping so many catches. With such favours being doled out, Kumar Sangakkara secured yet another half-century - 74 off 45 balls at a strike-rate of 164. But this innings wasn't about brute force. It was about how he only allowed 13 of the deliveries he faced to be dots. It was about how he pre-empted the bowlers' plans, like when he walked across the crease to be in the perfect place to send back of a length slower balls over short fine leg. It was an innings that screamed out his experience. And against that, the Stars faded.
Special mention to the pitch at Kingston. It was fast. It offered seam movement early on, then later grip to the spinners and slower balls. It fostered a contest and that's the best we can hope for. At the end of it, another fine innings today, Shane Watson's first half-century in 25 innings, 80 off 45 balls with seven sixes and three fours, ends up on the losing side.
Mahmudullah, the Bangladeshi batsman, on CPL debut.
R Powell hit wicket b Mayers 9 (5b 0x4 1x6) SR: 180.00
Tallawahs need nine off 12 balls with Sanga still in. He's controlled this chase as cleverly as it needed to be. Fifty-seven runs off the last five overs, at the cost of only one wicket. Here's Mayers to see if the Stars can pull off a miracle
Ash: "No wonder the current W.I team in England dropped so much catches today as well, There are way too much catching errors in the domestic league"
Jamaica Tallawahs' six-wicket win pushed them one victory away from their fifth consecutive playoffs berth