Twitter Reactions: Isuru Udana, Kieron Pollard hand TKR maiden win of CPL 2021

After their nine-run loss at the hands of Guyana Amazon Warriors, Trinbago Knight Riders have made an incredible comeback in the 2021 CPL. On Saturday, they beat the Barbados Royals by six wickets at Warner Park and opened their account in the league.

Udana comes to the party

After electing to bat first, the Royals made a steady start courtesy of a 29-run stand between Glenn Phillips and Johnson Charles. But once the duo got out to Isuru Udana, TKR made stormed back. Azam Khan smashed a 21-ball 30, but the Royals could only get themselves up to 122.

In the last 5.2 overs, the Royals only scored 19 runs and lost six wickets. Udana went on to pick up a five-wicket haul and gave away only 21 runs. Ravi Rampaul, Akeal Hosein and Sunil Narine also got amongst the wickets. Fast bowler Jayden Seales went for 42 runs in his four overs.

Pollard and Amir shine

In their run-chase, the Knights lost the early wickets of Lendl Simmons, Narine and Colin Munro in pretty quick succession. Mohammad Amir got all three wickets. Tim Seifert hit three fours, but his 15 came at a strike rate of 60. Oshane Thomas got rid of the big fish.

From there on, Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin’s unbeaten 87-run stand took TKR over the finishing line. Ramdin was sedate as he scored 29 off 31. Pollard, on the other hand, smacked his way to a 30-ball 58 with the help of three fours and six colossal sixes.

You need to play percentage shots on such a ground: Kieron Pollard

Jason Holder, the Royals’ skipper, was dejected after his team lost two matches on the trot. Pollard, on the other hand, talked about taking calculative risks on a track, which wasn’t an overly easy one for batting.

“We didn’t give ourselves a fair chance (with that kind of a score). Guys need to take responsibility. We have had two tough games so far. It’s a tricky situation, trying to defend 120 is difficult. The seam bowlers backed themselves. We need to be a little bit tighter. We need to take the game a bit deeper,” Holder said after the match.

“We have few strong guys who can clear the boundaries. You need to play percentage shots on such a ground. We were in a spot of bother today, but Ramdin played well. Shows the experience we have in this TKR line-up. I think Udana’s come here to make a statement. He got those early wickets and we were able to support him at the backend,” Pollard said.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to TKR’s win