RBCPL24: GAW humble Kings again; Sammy still confident of top-two finish

The wily Imran Tahir and reigning Republic Bank CPL champions Guyana Amazon Warriors jumped to the top of the 2024 standings with a game to spare, after getting a comfortable 35-run win against the Saint Lucia Kings at the National Stadium in Providence, Guyana on Saturday.

It’s a fourth straight win for a Warriors team which is ticking all the right boxes before the CPL playoffs get under way with the Eliminator match at Providence on Tuesday evening.

With his team well beaten by the all-round efforts of the Warriors team, a hobbled and limping Kings skipper, Faf du Plessis, gave his all in the unforgiving heat as his team took on a new challenge head-on: net run-rate (NRR).

The Warriors’ score of 207 for 7 proved insurmountable for the Kings who posted 172 for 7.

Still, coach Daren Sammy was pleased with their rollicking finish to the match as the final over from Junior Sinclair went for 2—adding respectability to their total and preventing what could have been a more lopsided defeat given GAW’s dominance in the contest.

At the ten-over mark, the in-form Johnson Charles (12) and half the Kings team were back in the pavilion and du Plessis and Sammy had a lengthy discussion to map out their course of action going forward.

“That was really important [for us to get to 170],” Sammy said at the post-match presentation. “At the halfway stage, Faf and I spoke and he said it makes no sense trying to get to that total.

“We wanted to get as close as possible and keep our net run-rate positive… We did what we had to do to put more pressure on [Trinbago Knight Riders] in the last game here [on Sunday].”

The 40-year-old Du Plessis blazed his way to 92 off 59 balls with seven fours and four sixes.

The latter part of his innings brought back memories of Glenn Maxwell’s stunning double-century in last year’s 50-over World Cup, as almost every big heave was accompanied by a groan into the stump mic and an uncomfortable fall to the Providence pitch for the cramping captain.

With the off-spinning Sinclair turning the ball into du Plessis for the final over, the South African’s eyes lit up and he hit three massive sixes to go along with the one struck by Alzarri Joseph (25*).

The end result?

The Kings had their five-game winning streak snapped and lost their spot atop the table. But Sammy reckons they may have done enough to secure a top-two spot, which would see them contesting the first qualifier on Wednesday and not the dreaded Eliminator  the night before.

The Warriors and the Kings are both on 14 points, with the former boasting a healthy +1.313 NRR—well clear of the Kings’ +0.673.

TKR are third on 12 points, and they turned their NRR (+0.090) from a minus to a plus with their 30-run victory over the Barbados Royals (10 pts) on Friday night.

On the back of four straight losses, Rovman Powell and his Barbados Royals have already been confirmed as the first team for the Eliminator.

From 7pm on Sunday in Providence, the Royals’ opponents will be decided when the red-hot Warriors and TKR meet in another instalment of their now-years-old rivalry.

In the first meeting between the teams this season, Andre Russell’s 17th-over onslaught on Tahir’s temporary replacement, Nathan Sowter, guided TKR to the 149-run target set by the Warriors.

With no signs of the flu now hindering his performances or “siu” celebrations, Tahir is eagerly looking forward to the rematch between last year’s finalists.

“It’s another opportunity for all the guys,” Tahir said, “and I don’t think we’re just going to take it for granted. They are a very good team and we obviously want to win.”

At 45, the South African leg-spinner continues to bamboozle batsmen in the CPL with his googlies—just ask Roston Chase—and he’s as important to the Warriors’ title defence as the classy Shai Hope or the polarizing Shimron Hetmyer, who struck his fourth fifty of the season on Saturday.

A man of faith, Sammy believes his Kings will get another chance to rein in Tahir’s rampant band of spinners and stroke-makers, who have now completed an impressive double against his team in 2024.

“If at the start of the season, you’d said we’d lose three games and be number two on the table,” Sammy remarked, “we would have taken that.

“However, it’s just this (Guyana) team. They got the better of us twice and it’s just the inability to score runs against them.

“We have to be a little more mentally prepared. But I know I have what it takes in that dressing room to come out and be victorious. I told [the Warriors] they have to beat me four times to win this competition.”

Their top-order shuffling seemingly a thing of the past with the return of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Warriors looked imperious with the bat as they posted another 200-plus score despite losing four wickets for 28 runs at the death.

For the second straight game, Hetmyer (58 off 30 balls, 4×9, 6×1) and Hope (56, 31b, 4×2, 6×5) changed gear through the middle overs with a substantial partnership, putting on 85 for the third wicket to back up their 106-run partnership against the Royals three days ago.

If he were donning a maroon hat instead of the blue of St Lucia,  Sammy would have been smiling from ear to ear with GAW’s deadly left-right combo.

Instead, the former T20 World Cup-winning captain was left blue in the face when, in the 12th over, Ackeem Auguste dropped Hope on 22 off the bowling of Roston Chase.

Going at just over a run-a-ball at the time, Hope made the Kings pay in the 16th over when he took left-arm spinner Khary Pierre (0/52) to the cleaners. He hit three sixes and a four as he brought up his ninth CPL half-century before being removed by David Wiese (3/43) in the next over.

“When you give good players like that chances, they make you pay like we saw today,” Sammy said.

“However, I don’t think we were quite diligent enough in our execution. We took a long time to adjust to the surface.”

Reeling in the fifth-highest CPL score at Providence was always going to be an uphill battle. And when a sweeping Charles fell to Gudakesh Motie (2/27) in the third over, du Plessis was required to do most of the heavy lifting.

The Kings’ cause was aided in a wayward fifth over from Romario Shepherd, which leaked 22 runs. However, there were only six overs of seam for du Plessis and company to latch onto in this contest as they were stalled by the Warriors spinners.

Gudakesh Motie, Tahir (2/20) and England allrounder Moeen Ali (2/21) did the trick for the Warriors. At 105 for seven, the Kings were brought back down to earth when Shadrack Descarte (2) stepped on his stumps as he tried to turn a Sinclair delivery into the on-side.

Sinclair later returned to provide hitting practice for du Plessis and Alzarri as they boosted the Kings’ NRR, but there was no doubting who won today’s battle.

With the playoffs looming, Sammy believes his team can win the war. Messrs Powell, Tahir and Kieron Pollard will surely have something to say about that.

Summarised scores

Toss: Guyana Amazon Warriors

Guyana Amazon Warriors: 207/7 (20 overs) Shimron Hetmyer 58, Shai Hope 56, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 26, Azam Khan 26, Romario Shepherd 24; David Wiese 3/43, Noor Ahmad 2/26, Alzarri Joseph 2/29

St Lucia Kings: 172 for 7 (20 overs) Faf du Plessis 92*, Alzarri Joseph 25*, Moeen Ali 2/21, Imran Tahir 2/20, Gudakesh Motie 2/27

Man-of-the-Match: Shimron Hetmyer

Result: Guyana Amazon Warriors win by 35 runs

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