Caribbean Premier League 2020: Barbados Tridents beat Jamaica Tallawahs by 36 runs in spin-dominated contest

Kyle Mayers smashed a blisteing knock of 85 runs as Barbados Tridents registered their second win of the ongoing 2020 edition of the Caribbean Premie League (CPL) with a 36-run triumph over  Jamaica Tallawahs at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on Wednesday.

The spinners ran riot on both sides, but Mayers was brutal off the seamers to give the Barbados Tridents a total in their stipulated 20 overs that proved well out of reach for Jamaica Tallawahs who badly missed the services of injured Andre Russell.

All had looked lost for Tridents after Mujeeb ur Rahman and Sandeep Lamichhane had worked their magic. However, Mayers notched up 29 runs off a Carlos Brathwaite over which proved to be absolutely pivotal.

Mujeeb did for both Tridents openers - an off-break turned big to trap Shai Hope leg before wicket and a carrom ball to Johnson Charles took the edge for Tallawahs skipper Rovman Powell to take a good catch at slip. 

Veerasammy Permaul appeared in his first match of the ongoing CPL season, replacing Russell. He started well until Mayers lofted him for six over extra cover before the latter also repeated the trick off Edwards to help the Tridents reach the Powerplay at 37/2.

Holder lifted Permaul onto the rope at  long-on, and Mayers took a liking to Powell in an over that went for 17. Brathwaite didn’t escape punishment as Mayers timed him over point, bringing up a 50-run stand off just 29 balls.

Powell went to Lamichhane, whose googlies restricted Mayers and Holder to three off the 10th over. At halfway, the Tridents were 79/2.

After 20 more balls, Barbados Tridents reached 90/6. Brathwaite bounced out Holder, Rashid Khan’s promotion lasted two balls as he sliced a Lamichhane leg-break to backward point, Mujeeb skidded a carrom ball onto Corey Anderson’s stumps and Lamichhane beat Ashley Nurse’s slog-sweep with a googly.

Mujeeb could have dismissed Mayers had a close LBW shout been given or had Glenn Phillips held a catch, but with the Afghan and Nepalese combining for 5/30, little did we know how crucial that would prove.

Brathwaite disappeared to all parts as Mayers launched four maximums, and even good death bowling saw the Tridents end on a competitive looking total of 148 for seven.

Subsequently, Tridents' Mitchell Santner started superbly, bowling Phillips as part of a wicket-maiden. Chadwick Walton smashed Holder for four before pulling him for a maximum, but the Tridents skipper nicked him off with a Test match-style seaming beauty.

Santner followed up with another fine over, and the Tallawahs were 13/2 after three.

Walsh Jr went for just three runs, all due to misfields including a dropped catch. Blackwood’s first boundary was a thick inside edge off Holder, and the captain’s extra bounce did for his opposite number Rovman Powell who gloved down the leg-side to the keeper.

At 22/3 off 5 overs, the Tallawahs were precariously placed, and that was before Rashid Khan came on for the last over of the Powerplay. The required run rate was now approaching nine an over.

Walsh Jr spilled a tough caught-and-bowled off Blackwood, but finally got his first wicket of Hero CPL 2020 as Asif holed out to long-off to plunge the Tallawahs into even deeper strife. The leg-spinner celebrated with a huge roar of delight.

Ashley Nurse went for just five off two overs, and Walsh Jr beat Blackwood on both edges to leave the Tallawahs 36/4 needing 11 an over off the last 10 with three overs of Rashid still to face. In a familiar tale, the Tallawahs had failed to score off 44 of the first 60 balls.

Things seemed to be picking up following the break. Bonner pulled Walsh Jr for the first four in 37 balls, while Blackwood joined with a maximum to put a slight dent in Walsh Jr’s figures, and the two scored off every ball of Rashid’s second over including a boundary.

But Santner’s return did the trick. Blackwood hit one big Hero Maximum over the sightscreen, but a slower ball deceived him into holing out to long-on. Rashid capped a horrible night for Brathwaite, pinning him LBW with a fast googly, and after a mini-recovery the Tallawahs were 68/6 off 14 and needed 13.5 an over.

Santner finished a brilliant spell - 20 off his 24 balls were dot balls and a Hero Maximum was his only boundary conceded. Bonner hammered Raymon Reifer for a maximum, but Permaul took nine balls to get off the mark, and with the Tallawahs needing 17.25 an over, Bonner took it upon himself to farm the strike.

Rashid ended the Tallawahs’ last faint hope, as Bonner tried to pull an unpullable ball and Anderson held the top-edge. Mujeeb deposited his countryman for a pair of maximums, but even so the required run rate at the end of the over was higher than when it started.

Mujeeb continued his fun with a reverse hook off Nyeem Young, but the youngster made a contribution taking an excellent catch diving forward at deep point to give Reifer the wicket of the scratchy Permaul.

Reifer made it two when Mujeeb tried to reverse sweep a middle-stump yorker, and in the end the only thing missing for the Tridents was a wicket for Young. Russell or no Russell, the Tallawahs batters need to find some answers fast.

Bief scores: Barbados Tridents 148/7 (Mayers 85, Santner 20*, J Holder 15; Mujeeb 3/14, Lamichhane 2/16, Edwards 1/25) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 112/9 (Bonner 31, Blackwood 28, Mujeeb 18; Santner 2/10, Reifer 2/13, J Holder 2/18, Rashid 2/33, Walsh Jr 1/17) by 36 runs