Twitter Reactions: Luke Ronchi blitz ends the campaign for defending champions Tallawahs

Luke Ronchi blitz and the hat-trick from Rashid Khan has ended the campaign for the defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs. Chasing a total of 169, Warriors rode on the magnificent half-century from the former Kiwi wicketkeeper to book the knockout clash with the tournament favourites Trinbago Knight Riders.

Tallawahs, after losing the toss, got off to a decent start with the new opening pair of Lendl Simmons and Kennar Lewis. But the latter was dismissed in the fifth over and the procession continued with couple more wickets. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara once again held the fort for his team and they were looking good at 116/4 after 14 overs.

Rashid’s hat-trick

But then the Afghanistan sensation, Rashid Khan, wreaked havoc in the opposition camp by taking a hat-trick. He disturbed the timber of in-form Andre McCarthy, Jonathan Foo and Rovman Powell to leave Jamaican side reeling at 116/7. But Sangakkara kept going and made sure they post a competitive total on the board. Tallawahs put up competitive 168/8 thanks to their skipper’s unbeaten 57 off 38 deliveries.

Ronchi launches an assault on Tallawahs

In the chase, it was once again the duo of Chadwick Walton and Ronchi who blazed their way after an early loss of Sohail Tanvir. Walton once again won the battle against Kesrick Williams by hitting him out of the park time and again. His partner was in the zone today as he was the more aggressive of the two. Walton went back to the dugout in the 9th over but the Kiwi batsman continued his assault and reached his half-century off just 20 deliveries.

Mahmudullah scalped 3 wickets to provide some late jitters in the Warriors camp but to no avail. Ronchi’s 70 off just 33 balls made sure Guyana was always ahead of the game. Tallawahs had another bad day with the ball with the skipper Sangakkara mentioning that the hat-trick from Afghan leggie being the turning point of the match.

Warriors now are on a winning spree by winning their last 5 matches. Martin Guptill leaving the tournament has been a blessing in disguise for them as Ronchi has made every penny count which has been paid to him. They will face the table toppers Knight Riders in the second qualifier now in less than 24 hours.

Twitterati had a lot of moments to cheer during the match. They were waiting for the battle between Williams and Walton but they got much more as Rashid Khan finally came to the party with a hat-trick and Ronchi continued to be a surprise package for everyone.

Here is how Twitterati erupted during the game: