Jamaica Tallawahs 113/5 (Bonner 30*, Phillips 26, Russell 23*, Blackwood 23; Naveen 2/35, Paul 1/16, Nedd 1/17, Tahir 1/23) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 108/9 (Taylor 25, Naveen 20*, Pooran 15; Mujeeb 3/11, Edwards 3/30, Lamichhane 1/12, Russell 1/17) by 5
Lightning did not strike twice in Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020, as the Jamaica Tallawahs got over the line with time to spare having again restricted the Guyana Amazon Warriors to a paltry total. Fidel Edwards was superb at the top and at the death, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Sandeep Lamichhane combined beautifully for 4/23, and while the chase was not straightforward, a series of cameos was enough.
Having elected to bowl first, Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell could not have hoped for better than the Edwards yorker which bowled Brandon King first ball of the match. Anthony Bramble, playing his first Hero CPL game since 2016, survived LBW shouts from both Edwards and Mujeeb, but Shimron Hetmyer was not so lucky off the Afghan spinner.
Bramble was unable to settle, playing out eight straight dot balls including a Mujeeb maiden before pulling Edwards straight to the captain on the fence. Only Ross Taylor clubbing Andre Russell for a Hero Maximum then pulling him for four got the Amazon Warriors as far as 30/3 off the Powerplay.
Taylor hammered Powell for four but Carlos Brathwaite conceded just 10 off his two overs, and Lamichhane started beautifully. At halfway the Warriors had crawled to 53/3, and it was only to get worse against the Tallawahs’ high-class spinners.
Mujeeb turned a carrom ball to bowl Nicholas Pooran, whose only boundary in his 17-ball innings was an edge past the wicketkeeper, and Lamichhane’s googly deceived Sherfane Rutherford into giving up an easy catch to Asif Ali at cover.
Russell chipped in with an inswinger to trap Taylor LBW, and Mujeeb got captain Chris Green with a beauty that Green edged to his opposite number at slip. Mujeeb was unplayable, as evidenced not just by his 3/11 but by 18 of his 24 deliveries being dot balls.
The Amazon Warriors became frantic, and only a full-length dive saved Keemo Paul from being run out. Lamichhane’s last over was just as good as his first three, and even his outstanding figures of 1/12 might have been a little harsh on him.
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