…but the Amazon Warriors finish in the top two

Guyana Amazon Warriors(GAW) against Trinbago Knight Riders (KKRr clash is arguably the biggest match of the preliminary round of the Guyana leg of the 12 th edition of the CPL and a capacity partisan crowd packed the Providence Stadium last night.
But when the dust had settled, the dejected Warriors trailed out of the Providence Stadium as if they were in a funeral procession.

A brutal 101 from Nicholas Pooran who dominated a 122-run second with Jason Roy (34) and a quick-fire unbeaten 13-27 with three fours and six got the Knight Riders to 211-5.
Pooran who scored the most t20 runs this year, faced 59 balls, smashing nine fours and eight sixes to join Quinton de Kock (434) in a 400-run club.
The lively Sharmar Joseph had 3-50 for the Warriors who slumped from 64-1 to 88-8 with many fans walking out on their team.
The Warriors needed to get 104 to ensure their net run rate remained higher than the Knight Riders to end second to St Lucia Kings.

Gudakesh Motie was unbeaten on 26 and Tahir made 20 as the pair added 40 runs for the ninth wicket to see the Warriors to 137 in 18.5 overs to ensure they get two bites of cherry.
The Knight Riders had an inauspicious start when Skipper Imran Tahir bowled Shaqkere Parris (0) in the first over and a Sea of Red in the stands erupted like a tsunami.
Pooran, who reached 300 runs for the first time in a CPL tournament in the last match, silenced the raucous crowd with a brutal display of pugnacious hitting as the left-hander dominated the century partnership with Roy, who scored just 16 runs, was the silent partner.

Pooran got going with two sixes off pacer Dwaine Pretorius before edging him and steering the South African elegantly for another boundary in an over that cost 15.
Romario Shepherd was gloriously cut for four, driven back past his ankles and whipped him for-to-back boundaries.
The fifty was posted in 30 while 71 runs were scored in the six-over power play.

The 100 was posted in the ninth over, while Pooran reached his fifty from 22 balls with eight fours and three sixes.
Pooran launched into Joseph; hitting him for a six and four before he deposited Tahir for consecutive sixes.
The Trinidadian reached his third ton in this format from 57 balls with nine fours and eight sixes.
Roy accelerated; hitting two fours and a couple of sixes before falling to Joseph.

Andre Russell (9) edged Pretorius to the Keeper, Shai Hope at 162-3 before Pooran was caught behind off Joseph in the next over at 171-4.
Joseph, working up genuine pace, scattered Tim David’s next ball to be on a hat trick and the spectators were back on their feet lustily waving Warriors and Guyana flags.
Kieron Pollard (18) and Carty (27) added 40 runs in the last 20 balls to get their team past 200.

The Warriors set 208 were off to a bad start when Kevlon Anderson (1) was lbw to West Indies U-19 player Nathan Edwards at 6-1 before Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hope revived the crowd with a 58-run second wicket stand before Hope (28) was also LBW to Akeal Hosein to trigger a colossal
collapse.
When Shimron Hetymer got going with a scorching boundary off Terrence Hinds, the noise level reached a crescendo but with the score on 75-3, Gurbaz departed to the delight of TKR
fans in the stands.
Hetymer however could only reach nine as the Warriors had to depend on their spinners with the bat to see them to Wednesday’s qualifier 1 against the St. Lucia Kings.