CPL T20 Cricket… Capacity crowd see Warriors find another way to lose; Tallawahs snatch thrilling two-run win

Aug 18, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...rilling-two-run-win/

By Sean Devers

The Warriors could not want better support.
The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic at Providence last night as a sold out crowd, only second in size to Trinidad, danced and waved Warriors flags creating a sea off yellow in the stands in what was surly the biggest party in sports before they left the venue angry and heart- broken as the Guyana Amazon Warriors found another way to lose.
Led by a 47-ball 51 with four fours and a six from 20-year-old New Zealander Glenn Phillips, 20 from Lindl Simmons and 12-ball 20 from Guyanese Jonathon Foo with two fours and a six in one over off leg-spinner Rashid Khan, Tallawahs reached 128-7 off 20 overs on a good track for batting.
Off-spinner Steven Jacobs, back in the side after being dropped in St Lucia, continued to be one of Guyana’s most economical bowlers with 2-18, while Rayed Emrit (2-24), Khan (2-38) and Pakistan pacer Sohail Tanvir (1-14) were the wicket takers for the Warriors who reached 126-4 in 20 overs.
Chadwick Walton (37 from 33 balls), Skipper Martin Guptill (33 from 41 balls), Babar Azam (23 from 27 balls) and Jason Mohammed (24) all got starts but failed to carry on.
The Warriors had the game in their hands until the final over which began with them needing eight to win but even when Azam was removed in the final over by Kesrick Williams with four for victory, the Warriors still had the advantage.
With three to win off the last ball Roshan Primus, instead of playing the on the ground and running as if his life depended on it to take the game into a super over, opted to try and clear the Red Stand and was taken well inside the boundary leaving the Warriors to now win four of their remaining five games to qualify for the semis.
Walton and Guptill shared in a 67-run opening stand but the top order batted too slowly while Jason Mohammed’s unbeaten 24 from 18 balls was too little too late as Williams bagged 3-30
Earlier, the Warriors replaced fast bowling all-rounder Kemo Paul with Jacobs and asked the Tallawahs to bat in ideal batting conditions; Tanvir conceded just two runs from his first over despite bowling a wide to Simmons.
Simmons hit the first boundary in the second over bowled by spinner Veerasammy Permaul but the over cost just five runs.
Emrit replaced Tanvir in the fifth over and Simmons smashed him for his second boundary to ease the pressure under a clear night sky before Khan; bowling the final over in the power play, was dumped for six by Simmons.
Khan had the last laugh when Simmons was comprehensively bowled next ball to leave the visitors on 30-1 in 5.2 overs. Phillips pulled a long hop from Khan to the mid-wicket boundary and at the end of six overs Tallawahs were 35-1.
Another tight over from Permaul kept the shackles on the batsmen and Jacobs was introduced and produced an economical first over but Phillips used his feet nicely and clipped Permaul to the mid-wicket boundary before Jacobs bowled Andrew McCarthy (8), who has two fifties in this tournament, to leave the score on 50-2.
Kumar Sangakkara joined Phillips but excellent bowling in the first 10 overs kept the Tallawahs on a tight leash. Sangakkara (5) was bowled by Jacobs as Tallawahs slumped to 62-3 in the 12th over as Jacobs and Khan, operating in tandem, confused the batsmen as Rovman Powell joined Phillips who again looked good.
Phillips hit Emrit for consecutive boundaries, the first going for six over long-on as a difficult catch was parried over the ropes by Khan before Powell (7) was brilliantly taken at mid-wicket by Khan off Emrit at 85-4 in 15.5 overs and huge crowd, many of whom arrived last due to the traffic congestion on the East Bank Public Road, were waving Warriors flags and dancing in the stands.
But Phillips kept going and pulled Roshon Primus into the ram-packed Party stands to gallop into the 40s while Foo joined him with 4.1 overs to go. Foo smashed Khan over extra cover for four, dumped him over mid-wicket for six and cut him to third man for consecutive boundaries before he was bowled in an eventful over which cost 16 runs to leave Tallawahs on 118-5.
Phillips’ entertaining knock ended when he missed a switch hit and was LBW to Tanvir at 120-6 in the penultimate over while Imran Wasim (3) was bowled by Emrit in the final over at 124-7 as 42 runs were scored in the last five overs.
When the Warriors began their reply, Walton dominated a slow opening stand and after six over were 30 without loss with Walton on 18 and Guptill on 12. Walton spanked Kesrick Williams for a bullet-like boundary past mid-off and the 50 came up in the eighth over and the fans in stands were dancing to pulsating music from the huge speakers in the Party stand.
Guptill has struggled to get big scores in this tournament and last night was no different. He was dropped off Mohammed Sami on 16 with the Warriors on 52 in the ninth over and again by spinner Gary Mathurin off his own bowling two runs later.
Guptill responded by hitting Mathurin for his first boundary and at the end of the 10th over with the score 61 without loss.
However, Walton was soon removed by Williams at 67-1 in 11.3 overs while Guptill was bowled in the 13th over by Mathurin with the score 76-2.
Mohammed joined Azam with 53 needed from 44 balls and the pair batted sensible with Mohammed clobbering Krismar Santokie for six before Phillips dropped Azam off Mohammed Sami with 13 to get from 10 balls.
Mohammed was put down with seven to win and the rest is now history.