FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, (CMC) – Left-hander Shimron Hetmyer struck a flamboyant hundred as Guyana Amazon Warriors handed Jamaica Tallawahs their first loss of the Caribbean Premier League season, with a resounding 71-run defeat here Saturday night.

Amazon Warriors piled up 209 for seven off their 20 overs after choosing to bat first in the opening game at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium, with Man-of-the-Match Hetmyer hitting exactly 100 from 49 deliveries.

Captain Shoaib Malik struck 50 but the next highest score was 13 not out from Jason Mohammed as Amazon Warriors declined from 162 for two in the 15th over, losing five wickets for 34 runs at the back end.

In reply Tallawahs cruised to 102 for two at the half-way point behind opener Glenn Phillips’s 43 and Ross Taylor’s 30 but suffered a sudden collapse to lose their last eight wickets for 36 runs.

The victory put Amazon Warriors top of the table on six points, only ahead of second placed Tallawahs on net run rate.

Amazon Warriors enjoyed a less than steady start when Chadwick Walton fell lbw for nine to leg-spinner Samuel Badree in the second over with 13 runs on the board.

However, Hetmyer arrived to rally the innings with a knock which included 11 fours and sixes, posting 43 for the second wicket with Luke Rochi (8) and further 108 for the third wicket with Shoaib.

The 21-year-old Hetmyer raced to his half-century off 25 balls, lifting captain Andre Russell (2-31) over square leg for six in the eighth over to bring up the landmark. In contrast, he reached three figures off another 22 balls but quietly, clipping left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie (2-35) to mid-wicket for a single in the 14^th over.

He was next to perish, however, lasting only another two balls before holing out to long off in the next over from pacer Oshane Thomas (2-32).

Shoaib, meanwhile, crunched a four and four sixes off 33 balls but was dismissed in the 18^th over as part of the slide, punching Santokie to extra cover.

Having chased well in the tournament, Tallawahs looked on course to continue that trend even though Kennar Lewis departed for 14 to the last ball of the opening over, picking out Shoaib at long on with seamer Keemo Paul.

Phillips and Taylor then took command, however, posting 66 in an enterprising second wicket stand which revived the innings.

The 21-year-old Phillips pummeled two fours and four sixes in a 29-ball knock while veteran Taylor faced 20 balls and struck a four and a six.

South African off-spinner Chris Green (2-19) claimed Taylor caught at the wicket, top-edging a paddle sweep in the eighth over and with 20 runs added, South African David Miller was run out for 11 in the 11^th over.

Off the very next ball, Phillips played on to an Imran Tahir (2-26) googly leaving Tallawahs in tatters on 102 for four and Russell’s cheap dismissal, caught in the deep off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo for one, proved a key blow to the innings.