BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, ( CMC) – The Guyana Amazon Warriors Women kept alive their dream of qualifying for the Women’s Caribbean Premier League playoffs with an impressive 25-run victory over the previously unbeaten Trinbago Knight Riders Women here on Saturday.
The Knight Riders would have been favoured to win their third consecutive match after restricting the Amazon Warriors to 119 for eight in their 20 overs at Kensington Oval.
However, pacer Shabnim Ismail broke the backbonIsmail, who was named Player-of-the-Match, struck with the third ball of the innings by dismissing Laura Harris for a first ball duck, and also bowled captain Deandra Dottin for 13 and had Yastika Bhatia caught behind for six, to make the score 22 for three at the end of five overs.
Fellow pacer Shamilia Connell then had Marizanne Kapp caught on the fine leg boundary in the ensuing over, and followed up by bowling Jannillea Glasgow off the inside edge three balls later, to see the Amazon Warriors collapse to 22 for five.
Madeline Penna led a fightback with a gutsy 28 off 22 balls, but the Ashmini Munisar and Sheneta Grimmond struck at crucial times to ensure they never got close to their target.
Ismail ended with 3-21, while Connell took 2-12 and Grimmond 2-19.
Earlier, the Amazon Warriors wasted a decent start by their top order that saw them advance to 98 for three at one stage, before losing five wickets for 14 runs in the latter end of their innings that left them 112 for eight in the 20th over.
After Marizanne Kapp dismissed openers Tazmin Brits and Eboni Brathwaite, Shemaine Campbelle, who topscored with 31 and Erin Burns, who made 17, kept the runs flowing during a 42-run partnership.
But once Campbelle was dismissed by Laura Harris, the Amazon Warriors lost their way, with Dottin and Shikha Pandey stifling the middle and lower order batters with disciplined bowling.
Pandey was the pick of the Amazon Warriors’ bowlers with 2-9, while Kapp took 2-20 and Dottin 2-26.