CPL 2017, STS v BT, Match 8, Review: Barbados Tridents emerge victorious in a battle of the skippers

Match 8 of the 5th edition of the Caribbean Premier League saw the St Lucia Stars go head to head against the Barbados Tridents. In a rain depleted encounter, the Barbados Tridents reigned supreme over the St Lucia Stars by the DLS method. With the win, Barbados now sit at the top of the table with 2 wins from 3 games along with the Trinbago Knight Riders. However, the Trinabgo team has a better net run rate than the Barbados bunch.

Coming on to bat first in the away fixture at St Lucia, West Indian Dwayne Smith and Kiwi superstar Kane Williamson gave the Barbados Tridents a flying start. the openers rocketed to a total of 72 runs from 9 overs before Dwayne Smith lost his wicket to Kyle Mayers. Smith played a crucial knock of 36 runs off 27 balls which set the tone for a big score. While Kane Williamson was still at the crease, experienced Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik was dismissed the very next ball putting Mayers on a hat-trick.

Pollard’s inning:

The wicket of Shoaib Malik brought skipper Keiron Pollard at the crease and what happened after that made the Lucia Stars think that they were better without the wicket of the Pakistani. Keiron Pollard absolutely bulldozed the Lucia bowling attack as he scored 83 runs off 35 balls in the blink of an eye. His destructive inning consisted of 6 towering maximums and 5 boundaries which crushed the Lucia morale. While Kane Williamson lost his wicket scoring 46 runs, Pollard played the knock of a leader by remaining unbeaten until the end. The team registered a mammoth total of 196 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in their 20 designated overs.

The run chase did not go particularly well for the St Lucia team. All the big names in the top order including Jesse Ryder, Marlon Samuels and Johnson Charles failed to convert their start into a big knock. Australian all-rounder, Shane Watson, who is known as one of the stalwarts of the T20 format was sent back to the pavilion for a golden duck by Wayne Parnell. With age not on his side, Watson seems to be nearing the end of his career.

Sammy’s knock:

However, skipper Darren Sammy had other intentions on his mind. While Sammy decided not to go down without a fight, the rain gods decided to interrupt the proceeding. After overcoming the rainfall hurdle, the new target for the St Lucia Stars was 193 runs from 19 overs. Darren Sammy challenged his fellow West Indian and skipper Keiron Pollard as he played a mesmerizing knock of 60 runs from just 29 balls. His revival act consisted of 5 mammoth sixes and 5 fours when rain interrupted play again. Unfortunately, the players had to walk off the field in the 16th over with Darren Sammy still at the crease. The St Lucia score stood at 129/6 in 15.2 overs.

The DLS method came into play which saw the Barbados team being declared as winners by 21 runs. As per the method, Sammy and his men should have crossed the 150 run mark by this time to win the match. Darren Sammy’s incredible effort went in vain but the innings played by his Lucia counterpart Keiron Pollard deserves a hell lot of praise for his contribution which got him the Man of the Match award. South African quickie Wayne Parnell was the pick of the Barbados bowlers as he picked up 3 wickets from his 3 overs giving away 28 runs.

The loss saw the St Lucia stars remain at the bottom of the chart with 3 losses from the 3 games they have played. They definitely need to improve their bowling and their dismal fielding. The match was a battle of the captains and both of them established themselves to be true leaders of the game hinting towards a bright future for West Indian cricket.