St Lucia Zouks and Jamaica Tallawahs played out a thrilling match, despite the game being a dead rubber, to conclude the group stages of the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
It was a game that swung both ways in periods on Sunday afternoon, but ultimately the spin bowling of the Zouks reigned supreme as they managed to defend a meager score of 145 to get another win under their belt
Batting first, Najibullah Zadran and Roston Chase made useful contributions of 35 and 32 as Zouks ended their stipulated 20 overs on 145/6. However, they came out with a better bowling performance as they restricted Tallawahs to 134/9 in their full quota of 20 overs and won the match by 11 runs. Glenn Phillips top-scored for the Tallawahs with 49 runs. For Zouks, Javelle Glenn and Zahir Khan were picked of the bowlers as they both scalped three wickets each.
In Sunday’s other match, Trinbago Knight Riders once again showed that they are a formidable squad, not just an XI, as even with four changes — Sunil Narine still rested and Colin Munro injured — they put together a superbly planned and executed performance to bowl out St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for 77 runs inside 19 overs and chase their modest target inside 12 overs, thus completing a perfect 10 for 10 records in the league stage of the ongoing tournament.
Knight Riders will now play their semi-final game against Tallawahs on Tuesday while Zouks will face Guyana Amazon Warriors in the second semi-final on the same day.
Brief scores: St Lucia Zouks 145/6, 20 overs (Najibullah 35, Rahman 2/28) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 134/9, 20 overs (Phillips 49, Glenn 3/16)
Brief scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 78/1 (Webster 41*; Emrit 1/14) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 77 all out (Ramdin 19; Fawad 4/21,) by 9 wickets
