Jamaica Tallawahs 154 for 5 (McCarthy 60, Shakib 44*, Wahab 3-32) beat Barbados Tridents 142 (Pollard 62, Sami 4-12) by 12 runs
The Barbados Tridents captain speaks about his wicket against the Jamaica Tallawahs and the difficulties of hosting a tournament in the USA
Jamaica Tallawahs took the occasion of Jamaica's Independence Day to claim their first win in Florida, beating Barbados Tridents by 12 runs. After posting the highest total of the weekend, Tallawahs appeared to have a lock on defending 154 before Kieron Pollard gave them some late jitters, blasting 62 off 33 balls, with six sixes. Tridents needed 25 off the last two overs with Pollard still at the crease, but Mohammad Sami had him sky a catch to point for his fourth wicket to end any doubts about the result.
Double dose of déjà vu
On Saturday, Ravi Rampaul had Kumar Sangakkara caught driving at backward point. Later in the match, Kane Williamson took a salmon-leap catch on the midwicket boundary. On Sunday, the characters and storylines converged.
Having collected a golden duck a day earlier, Sangakkara nearly fell without scoring again, but this time, his drive off Wayne Parnell pierced the gap past Williamson, who was patrolling backward point. After being driven through cover for four early in the second over, Ravi Rampaul dropped short to Sangakkara, who middled a cut, only for Williamson to fling himself to his left and snaffle a one-handed stunner.
Wahoo for Riaz
After the fall of Sangakkara, Andre McCarthy and Lendl Simmons put on 51 for the second wicket to take Tallawahs to 65 when drinks were called for at the 10-over mark. Whatever energy-booster Wahab Riaz drank had the desired effect when he came out in the 11th and took three wickets in four balls.
A pull by Simmons, on 30, was intercepted by a leaping Kieron Pollard at midwicket. Wahab then angled in a fuller delivery to Imad Wasim that beat him for pace and pinged him in front. After Rovman Powell was able to leave the hat-trick ball alone outside off, Wahab followed with one tighter on off-stump that Powell dragged on. Two dots to Shakib Al Hasan rounded off a triple-wicket maiden.
McCarthyism CPL style
The Tallawahs No. 3 had scratched to 22 off 30 balls on Saturday, and had a life on 22 when Williamson spilled a sitter at extra cover in the 12th over. He had faced 24 balls at that point and the extra chance seemed to spur his batting to life.
McCarthy began the following over by smacking Akeal Hosein's left-arm spin through cover and over midwicket for four and six. He then took on Shoaib Malik's offspin in the 16th for another six over midwicket, before cutting him for four. Having raised his 50 in 37 balls, his good fortune continued, when soon after, Pollard missed a chance at deep midwicket off Rampaul, spilling the ball over the rope for six. He eventually fell in the final over for 60.
Shakib's surge
Shakib was content to ride in McCarthy's slipstream during their 84-run fifth-wicket stand until the 19th over, when he went toe-to-toe with Wahab. A length ball at the start was creamed over long-off for six, before Shakib charged him to pull a short ball over wide long-on for four. Wahab tried to go full next ball and Shakib responded by walking across to paddle through fine leg for four.
He then carved one over cover off Wayne Parnell in the 20th, and finished unbeaten 44 off 32.
Pollard's power
Tridents looked dead and buried when their captain came to the middle at 48 for 3 in the 10th over, with the required run rate a shade under 10. By the end of the next over, it was 52 for 5 with 103 needed off the last nine. Pollard took another over to settle down before tearing into Kesrick Williams, putting him away for a four and a six over long-on to end the 13th.
Two overs later, he creamed back-to-back straight sixes off Krishmar Santokie, one of them cannoning off the TV broadcast scaffolding above the sightscreen. Even though wickets were falling around him, he kept going big, driving Shakib for four and six in the 18th, and suddenly the equation was down to 32 off 15.
Super Sami
Sami had already taken 2 for 8 in three overs when he was brought back in the 19th to halt Pollard's onslaught. After nabbing Wahab with a wide bouncer with the third ball of the over, Pollard mistimed a pair of slogs that fell safely.
As Sami ran in for the final ball of the over, Pollard opted to shuffle across for a premeditated scoop. Sami followed him outside the stumps, and Pollard miscued over point, offering a simple catch to McCarthy. Santokie then claimed Rampaul with the final ball of the match as Tridents were bowled out for 142.
