Barbados Tridents 192 for 5 (Duminy 65, Charles 58, Carter 51, Pierre 2-24) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 129 (Bravo 28, Walsh 5-19, Duminy 2-24) by 63 runs
The fastest CPL fifty ever, a superb catch in the field and two wickets with the ball, JP Duminy dazzled in every possible manner as Barbados Tridents ended their eight-match losing streak at home and trounced Trinbago Knight Riders by 63 runs.
After a 110-run opening stand between Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter, Duminy raced away to fifty in just 15 balls, breaking Evin Lewis’ record of 17 balls set earlier this month. He struck seven sixes and four fours during his 20-ball 65 to power Tridents to 192 for 5.
But to say that was the whole story would be a travesty. Knight Riders were 74 for 3 in eight overs in their chase, with Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin at the crease and Kieron Pollard and Jimmy Neesham yet to come in.
Then, in the absence of Sandeep Lamichhane, Hayden Walsh stepped up and in grand style. The legspinner picked up 5 for 19, including three wickets in one over to break the back of the chase as Knight Riders were bundled out for 129 in 17.4 overs.
Charles, Carter set the platform for Tridents
Openers Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter started solidly for Tridents, scoring 28 for 0 in the first four overs. Carter, promoted to open in place of Alex Hales, had hogged most of the strike till then, facing 18 balls for 19 but Charles then made up for it by smashing Ali Khan for three fours in the fifth over.
Sunil Narine, returning from a finger injury, pulled things back by bowling a maiden to Carter but Charles, at the other end, ensured the bad balls were put away and brought up his half-century off 33 balls. The duo took the side to 100 at the end of the 13th over before Carter decided to switch gears. The left-hand batsman reached his maiden CPL fifty – albeit consuming 44 balls for it – with back-to-back fours of Narine. The bowler, however, had the last laugh and had Carter caught at the deep midwicket three balls later.
Duminy tees off with a record fifty
Khary Pierre dismissed Charles and Alex Hales in the 15th over while giving away just four runs. Next over, when Narine too conceded only two, it started looking liking Tridents might have to settle for a much lower total than they were aiming for at one stage. But Duminy had other ideas. After scoring only three from his first five balls, he smashed Ali Khan for three sixes and a four in the 18th over. Pollard was forced to turn to Jimmy Neesham for the damage control but he too wasn’t spared. Duminy hit his first five balls for 4, 6, 6, 4, 4 – the second six taking him to fifty as Tridents looted 49 from overs 18 and 19. Duminy smashed the first ball of the 20th over – bowled by Pollard – for yet another six but fell on the next ball. Tridents though had enough by then.
Knight Riders start strongly
Knight Riders started the chase positively, with Narine hitting Jason Holder for a four and a six in the first over. They were also helped by some sloppy fielding from Tridents. The next over saw four overthrows and four byes apart from a boundary each from Narine and Simmons as Knight Riders raced to 29 for 0 at the end of it. Narine fell to Holder, bowled for 19 off 9, but Colin Munro kept the scoring rate up, hitting a six each off Holder and Duminy. Harry Gurney dismissed Simmons and kept troubling Denesh Ramdin with frequent changes of angle and an assortment of slower balls but despite that, Knight Riders had reached 67 for 2 by the end of the Powerplay.
Duminy’s super catch before Walsh turns the tables
It was Duminy once again who brought Tridents back in the game. Munro had raced to 22 off 12 balls when he mistimed a loft against Raymon Reifer towards long-off. Holder ran backwards from mid-off but was never in with a chance. Sprinting from long-on, Duminy though snapped the chance and sent the dangerous-looking batsman back. Knight Riders 69 for 3 in the seventh over.
That soon became 75 for 4 when Walsh castled Ramdin. But the worst was yet to follow. In his next over, the 11th of the innings, Walsh first got Pollard caught by Holder at long-off, the fielder taking off in a celebratory run after the catch. Neesham failed to read the googly and was taken at slip first ball. Seekkuge Prasanna survived the hat-trick ball but was dismissed off the next when he mistimed the slog to deep square leg. After the dust settled, Knight Riders were reeling at 83 for 7, with Walsh having figures of 2-0-4-4.
If there was still any hope left for Knight Riders, Walsh dented that too in his final over. Two balls ago, Darren Bravo had smashed the legspinner for a six that was worth 12, but Walsh then tossed one wide outside off. Bravo once again went for it, only to top-edge it to backward point. Duminy then wrapped up the game by picking up the last two wickets.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo