Sunil Narine’s superb spell of spin bowling proved to be too much for the Barbados Tridents to handle, as the Trinbago Knight Riders recorded a 35-run victory to keep alive their improbable chance of qualifying for the playoffs in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League here on Saturday.
Narine’s heroics were needed after the Knight Riders posted a below par total of 147 for six in 20 overs at Kensington Oval following a poor display by their batters.
The Tridents’ batsmen failed to replicate the sterling effort of their bowlers, with Player-of-the-Match Narine grabbing four wickets – including the first three to fall – to see them bundled out for a meagre 112 in 18.3 overs.
It was the Tridents’ fourth consecutive loss after starting the season 2-0 and they remain rooted to the bottom of the seven-team table with just four points.
Meanwhile, the Knight Riders’ win – their third in nine matches – left them in sixth on six points but with an outside chance of making the top four.
In a crucial contest for both teams, the Tridents were given a good start when debutant Jakeem Pollard undid Sunil Narine with a short ball that he could only pull to mid-on with 14 runs on the board.
However, Colin Munro and his skipper Nicholas Pooran put the Knight Riders back on the road to recovery during a 68-run stand that propeled them to 82 for one. Pooran was especially severe on spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who he hit for three consecutive sixes at the start of the ninth over.
Ur Rahman eventually broke the partnership by bowling Munro for 38 off 32 balls and Pollard should have grabbed his second wicket shortly after, but Rivaldo Clarke dropped Pooran on the third man boundary when he was 35.
Pooran took advantage of the opportunity by smashing Gudakesh Motie for three successive sixes two overs later, the second of which brought up his half century off 35 balls.
Motie got the last laugh when he had Pooran caught at deep cover in the same over for 59 off 37 balls, inclusive of seven sixes and two fours.
His dismissal, which left the Knight Riders 110 for three in the 14th over, stalled their momentum, with Motie picking up two more wickets, including that of the dangerous Kieron Pollard for 15, to see the visitors limp to their eventual total.
Motie was the pick of the Tridents’ bowlers with 3-29, while Ur Rahman took 2-22.
The home side’s run chase was derailed from the third over, with Narine having Brandon King caught at short cover and then trapping Quinton de Kock lbw with his next ball to see them slip to 18 for two.
Zachary Carter gave the home fans something to cheer about, hitting Lahiru Kumara for three fours in the fourth over.
But Narine was soon back in the fray, having Clarke lbw for a duck and when captain Chris Green was caught off the bowling of Akeal Hosein for five, the Tridents were in real trouble at 35 for four in the sixth over.
It was a position they would never recover from, as the Knight Riders took wickets at key intervals, with the Tridents eventually losing their last four wickets for just 18 runs with Jyd Goolie helping to mop up the tail.
Narine ended with 4-12, Goolie took 3-20 and Kumara 2-30.