Walton, Ronchi ensure Amazon Warriors all but qualify
Chadwick Walton and Luke Ronchi struck quickfire fifties to chase their target of 150 with 57 balls to spare against Jamaica Tallawahs
Chadwick Walton and Luke Ronchi struck quickfire fifties to chase their target of 150 with 57 balls to spare against Jamaica Tallawahs
Commentator: Akshay Gopalakrishnan
10.46pm That chase happened in a flash. If your head's spinning and you're struggling to recollect details after watching that innings, that's only normal. A 150-run target mowed down in 10-and-a-half overs. It was brutal, it was savage and it was a lopsided annihilation of the defending champions. Guyana have all but sealed their playoffs berth. Their net run rate has shot up massively. Barbados Tridents now need to outdo this demolition, which is a seemingly impossible task.
Chadwick Walton is Player of the Match. "I ran out of pages in my notebook, but there is a rivalry going on (with Kesrick Williams)," he says. "It has been years that we have been doing this now, good fun. I've done a lot of work with the coaches. We were just thinking about giving our team a fighting chance. There is still a game of cricket, we will have to wait and see (if we have qualified)."
"I think we worked hard for this victory," says Warriors captain Rayad Emrit. "I didn't expect myself that we would do it in 11 overs. We knew if we got wickets, it was difficult for a new batsman to come in and start hitting. Our bowlers did it for us again in this game. We did a couple of things different at the top of the order. We sent in Tanvir, he didn't get going tonight, but from there, we started winning games. We knew that is going to count at the end of the day. Winning was most important, but doing it in 11 overs helped."
"I thought the Amazon Warriors outplayed us in every department," concedes Kumar Sangakkara. "I thought we were 15 runs short with the bat. I thought we played very well against Patriots and defended that well. I thought 160 would have given us a chance, but they took the attack to us. Being in the top two is nice, but it all depends on the games. But whoever we play, we need to play a lot better than we did tonight."
Sangakkara kind of hit the nail in the head there. Much as finishing in the top two helps, with this kind of performance it doesn't really matter. That was just tonight, though. Tallawahs have been good in the tournament otherwise and are second currently. That assault was certainly breathless. Anyone up for a Super Over tomorrow when Tridents clash with Knight Riders? Goodbye for now.
Six runs to get, but nothing before a little drinks break.
Chadwick Walton and Luke Ronchi struck quickfire fifties to chase their target of 150 with 57 balls to spare against Jamaica Tallawahs