Bravo brothers Darren and Dwayne shone with bat and bowl, while Kieron Pollard put in a full effort to propel Trinbago Knight Riders to their ninth consecutive Hero Caribbean Premier League victory here. Against St Lucia Zouks on Saturday, Darren Bravo scored 50 on 42 balls, while Pollard had 42 to guide Trinbago Knight Riders to 175 of five, their third score of more than 170 in a row, which they defended with 23 runs.
While defending, Darren’s older brother Dwayne (2/26) paired well with his pattern Pollard (3/35) to restrict Zouks to 152 for seven.
Trinbago rested Sunil Narine again, and starters Lendl Simmons and Tion Webster got off to a slow start, hitting a six by Scott Kuggeleijn, the only limit Simmons hit before hitting bottom for the keeper. Mohammad Nabi’s second over was costly with Webster driving him for maximum extra coverage to produce 13 runs.
Kesrick Williams followed up a no-ball with a free throw that Tim Seifert sped for six. Seifert hit three due to Colin Munro’s broken hand when the Knight Riders reached 47-for-one on the power play. Webster cleared Zahir Khan’s long fence, but the Afghan got his revenge with a faster ball to end a good cameo. Roston Chase gave away five widths in an over that went for 10, but Zahir kept things tight for just five and Mark Deyal closed the first half of innings with an over of four. At the halfway point, the Knight Riders were 74 times two.
Darren Bravo then hit a high over Zahir’s head. Zouks captain Daren Sammy was early in the attack and marked the occasion with a window when Seifert cut Najibullah Zadran deep. Pollard, returning captain after a break, reached the middle with the Knight Riders at 94 for three after 13 overs.
Sammy went one more second, but went for 13 with Pollard hitting a four and then clearing the fence for extra coverage. Pollard used his long handle to great effect as the Trinbago Knight Riders racked up 54 runs in the final four overs to set a goal of over 170 for Zouks.
Chasing, Zouks opened with Kimani Melius and Mark Deyal, but the duo only managed 13 of the first four overs, as Akeal Hosein and Sikandar Raza proved too difficult to hit. As Khary Pierre gave each starter a limit, Melius put a slower ball from Dwayne Bravo down the side of the leg where Seifert took a good catch. Andre Fletcher connected all six innings off Fawad Ahmed, who also gave up a four to Deyal, but Raza and Dwayne Bravo kept things tight.
When rain briefly interrupted proceedings in the 10th final, the Zouks went 63-for-one and needed nearly 11 over, which ultimately proved too difficult when Dwayne Bravo and Pollard delivered an excellent game of bowling. Meanwhile, in Game 2 on Saturday, Jason Holder scored 69 and took one spot as the Barbados Tridents defeated Jamaica Tallawahs by seven spots.
Opting to hit, Jamaica Tallawahs posted 161 of four, a goal the Trident overwhelmed with 10 balls to spare, going to 165 of three. The Knight Riders currently enjoy a six-point lead over the second-place Guyana Amazon Warriors, who have played 10 games. Zouks placed third on the points table.
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