Zouks edges Warriors in last over thriller

GROS ISLET, St.Lucia, (CMC)- A superb last over from Pacer Fidel Edwards on the back of a fiery spell from Kemar Roach fired St.Lucia Zouks to a sensational two run win over Guyana Amazon Warriors by way of the Duckworth Lewis Method in game six of the 2015 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) here Friday night.

Edwards held his nerve to contain the Warriors who needed 14 runs in the last over to win the match which was shortened to 18 overs a side due to rain at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium.
Earlier, Roach intimidated the top order with short deliveries to rattle a run chase which was gathering momentum but eventually fell two runs shy of the 156 for six posted by Zouks.
Zouks total was setup by a 77 run opening stand between Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher inside seven overs.
Both openers took the attack to the bowlers with Charles hitting four sixes and two fours while Fletcher continued to be among the top scorers for the Zouks with a well-played 36 containing five fours and a six.
However when Fletcher was trapped lbw by Ronsford Beaten and Charles was stumped by captain and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, Zouks failed to consolidate on the start managing only 74 runs in the remaining 11 overs.
They were restricted by the twin spin attack of Sunil Narine and Veerasammy Permaul who grabbed two wickets each as the home side struggled in the middle overs.
However an unbeaten knock of 30 from Ross Taylor who put together a sixth wicket partnership of 39 with Captain Darren Sammy helped to improve the run rate.
Sammy hit two boundaries before he was caught and bowled by Beaton who returned with an impressive second spell to finish with two wickets.
The Warriors started the chase with a brisk pace as Lendl Simmons and Tillakaratne Dilshon attacked the bowling.
However Dilshan was forced to retire in the fourth over with the score on 36 after he was hit by a bouncer from Roach whose impressive and hostile fast bowling disrupted the run chase.
Simmons scored 14 off 16 balls until he became the first victim of Roach’s short delivery, which was edged to Sammy at point.
Veteran Shiv Chanderpaul also failed to get going in the chase, soaking up 17 balls to score just 7 runs before he was deceived by the South African Spinner Eddie Leie, allowing wicket keeper Fletcher to remove the bails with his back foot still in the air.
Leie had best figures of two for 25 including the scalp of Ramdin for 21 while Chris Barnwell chipped in with 26 and featured in the highest partnership of the innings, a 53 run stand for the fourth wicket with veteran Brad Hodge, unbeaten on 45.
Hodge and Dilshan, who finished with a score of 29, after returning in the 16th over, appear to be leading their side to victory with 14 needed off the last over.
But in dramatic final moments Edwards bowled a gem of an over, shattering Dilshan’s stumps in the second ball.With four needed from the final ball, Narine got a top edge that only allowed two runs as the Zouks sealed their second victory in the tournament.

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