The Guyana Amazon Warriors crashed Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence Day celebrations at the Queen’s Park Oval, securing a thrilling 9-run victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders via the DLS method in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League on Monday night.
Shimron Hetmyer delivered a knock for the ages on his 100th CPL appearance, equalling the tournament’s record for the fastest ever century.
The explosive left-hander smashed an unbeaten 111 off just 43 deliveries, reaching his ton in a mere 40 balls after rain reduced the contest to 16 overs per side.
The contest was pitched as the “Curry Classic’ and it surely started spicy as the Knight Riders’ formidable PowerPlay attack immediately made their presence felt.
Akeal Hosein and debutant Lahiru Kumara dismissed Glenn Phillips (0) and Shai Hope (16) with only 19 runs on the board.
Before the PowerPlay could be completed, the heavens opened, forcing a lengthy delay with the Warriors languishing at 22 for 2.
Whatever was said during the rain break worked wonders for the Warriors’ batting unit. After a brief settling-in period, Hetmyer found his rhythm and quickly raced to a half-century off 27 balls.
While TKR’s spinners have been exceptional this season, their seamers continue to struggle, and the contrast was brutally exposed.
Poor debutant Kumara bore the brunt of Hetmyer’s fury, conceding 30 runs in the 13th over. Romario Shepherd joined the party, and the duo pillaged 85 runs in the final four overs to propel the Warriors to 185 for 5.
The DLS adjustment left TKR with a revised target of 182 and a vociferous home crowd behind them.
The hosts began positively, but Sunil Narine fell to a spectacular one-handed grab on the boundary from Glenn Phillips that even surprised the fielder himself.
Colin Munro helped himself to four fours, but he too followed shortly after, dismissed by Mohammad Nabi for 22.
Nicholas Pooran injected much-needed momentum with a blistering 43 from 16 balls, which included seven boundaries, four of which were maximums.
However, Nabi struck again when Pooran found Quentin Sampson’s hands at cover point, triggering a collapse.
Jyd Goolie (0), Justin Greaves (1), and Akeal Hosein (18) all fell, as the required run rate climbed steeply.
Alex Hales kept faint hopes alive with a magnificent 55 from 24 balls, smashing seven sixes before Shamar Joseph shattered his stumps.
With 24 runs needed from the final over, Shepherd held his nerve to guide the Warriors to victory, extending their unbeaten run in the tournament and full speed ahead towards the play-offs.