CPL 2017, Match 12, STS v GAW, Review: Heroics from Rashid Khan hands the Stars their 5th loss of the season

Match 12 of the 5th edition of the Caribbean Premier League saw the St Lucia Stars go head to head against the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Miseries piled upon the Lucia Stars once again as they lost another match at home. Darren Sammy and his men look drastically out of form with 5 losses from the 5 games they have played in this edition of the tournament.The Lucia Stars are the only team on the chart who are yet to win a game.

Coming on to bat first, opener Johnson Charles had a blazing start as he scored a brilliant half century. His inning of 52 runs came off 32 balls which consisted of 4 towering maximums and 3 boundaries. However, wickets kept falling at the other end as opening partner Andre Fletcher and Marlon Samuels failed with the bat. Johnson finally got some support in the name of Shane Watson who has been struggling with the bat in recent times.

The talented Aussie managed to get some runs on the board this time with his knock of 32. But Charles did not last too long as he fell before the 100 run mark off a Rashid Khan delivery. Contributions came from skipper Darren Sammy down the order as he chipped in with 26 crucial runs for the team. The Lucia Stars finished their innings at 152 for the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs.

Rashid Khan’s spell:

West Indian Rayad Emrit was the pick of the Guyana bowlers as he managed to grab 4 wickets under his belt. He conceded 35 runs in the process. Young Afghanistan leg spinner Rashid Khan had an outstanding spell as he was highly economical in his 4 designated overs. The bowler just gave away 9 runs in the process at an economy rate of 2.25. Khan who had a brilliant IPL season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad also picked up 2 wickets in the match. The run chase was an exciting one for the fans to watch. Though the Warriors had a lot of wickets in hand the match went on to become a last over thriller.

The run chase:

Skipper Martin Guptill and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton gave the team a good start with both of them getting some runs with the bat. While Chadwick took on the attack to the bowlers, Guptill played a had to struggle to earn his runs. Walton was the first one to depart after scoring a quickfire 30 from 20 deliveries. Martin Guptill scored 23 runs from 28 balls before losing his wicket.

However, a brilliant partnership from Jason Mohammad and Gajanan Singh in the middle order saw the Amazon Warriors go past their target with one ball to spare. Mohammad contributed in the win 38 runs from 31 balls but could not stay until the end of the match. Gajanand was brilliant in his attacking approach as he scored 35 runs from 22 deliveries which saw his team emerge victoriously.

Singh also remained unbeaten until the end with Roshon Primus. The Lucia bowlers did not have much to do and nobody could rise up to the occasion. Jerome Taylor, Mitchell McClenaghan, Kyle Mayers and Shane Shillingford picked up one wicket each in the process.

The Man of the Match award went to the sensational Rashid Khan who bowled a spell which is very rare in the T20 format. The young bowler has a bright future ahead, with immense talent stuffed inside him. However, with 5 losses from 5 games, the Darren Sammy led St Lucia Stars now have zero chances to make it to the playoff stages. The skipper was seen doing a facepalm while he made his way back to the pavilion.

The Amazon Warriors picked up their first win of the season with this victory. Having lost 3 games out of their 4, they now sit just above the Lucia Stars on the points table.

Brief scores:

Stars – 152/8 (20) Johnson Charles – 53(32), Rayad Emrit – 4/35

Warriors – 153/4 (19.5) Jason Mohammed – 38(31), Kyle Mayers – 1/22

Guyana Amazon Warriors won by 6 wickets