Fiery Munro gives Knight Riders Caribbean T20 title
MUMBAI: Colin Munro capped Trinbago Knight Riders’ stellar run in the Caribbean Premier League this season as he helped them clinch the title for the consecutive second time on way to becoming the first player to score more than 500 runs in a season.
Munro carried his devastating form to the final on Monday with an unbeaten 39-ball 68 that helped Trinbago chase down Guyana Amazon Warriors’ meagre 148-run target with 15 balls to spare. Coming to bat after Brendon Mccullum was dismissed following a brisk 24-ball 39, Munro upped the pace as he hit the bowlers to all corners of the park. Munro notched six half-centuries in 13 games.
The final was a one-sided affair with the victors striking off the first delivery to send Cameron Delport packing. Although Luke Ronchi (44) and Shimron Hetmeyer (15) put up a 52-run stand for the second wicket, once they departed, wickets fell at regular intervals. Denesh Ramdin (24) and Mccullum provided Trinbago with a brilliant start, helping the side reach the 50-run mark in just 37 balls. But after the former Kiwi skipper’s dismissal, it got worse for the opposition. When rain halted play at 65/1, Trinbago were ahead of the Dls-par score of 56, but Munro, batting on seven, didn’t want to leave it to calculations.
Munro picked two boundaries off Rayad Emrit, but with Ramdin and Darren Bravo (retired hurt) heading back in the span of three overs, he cut loose.
Munro picked 25 off Emrit’s third over. Such was the excitement that after Munro heaved one for a six, his teammates ran on to the pitch only to realise that the game wasn’t over. To add to the drama, the fielder at deep mid-wicket dropped the catch and what came out of it was just a run.
Munro ensured his teammates didn’t have to wait for long as he smacked Sohail Tanvir past point for the winning boundary.
Brief scores Guyana Amazon Warriors 147/9 in 20 overs (L Ronchi 44, K Pierre 3/29) lost to Trinbago Knight Riders 150/2 (C Munro 68*, B Mccullum 39)