118/4 (14.1)
CR : 8.33
117/10 (19.4)
CR : 5.95
Guyana Amazon Warriors won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Mohammad Nabi
4/2219(15)
Earlier in the game, the Amazon Warriors won the toss and decided to bowl first. Khary Pierre kept things tight with the new ball and struck early to dismiss Shayan Jahangir for 1, getting him caught by Shamar Joseph at deep mid wicket. Shamar then bowled a thunderbolt to york Keacy Carty and knock him over to end the powerplay. Reeza Hendricks (40 off 32) looked good once again, but was undone by Imran Tahir's magic at the stroke of the timeout.
8:33 AM IST, 10:03 PM Local Time: The eight-time CPL finalists, Guyana Amazon Warriors, make light work of newbies Jamaica Kingsmen and begin their 14th season with a dominating six-wicket win at Sabina Park! At the same time, the Kingsmen succumb to their third defeat in a row, and this was a proper hammering as compared to the two previous thrillers!
Player of the Match: Mohammad Nabi
Mohammad Nabi (Player of the Match): "[What you prioritised while bowling] We practiced three sessions there planning to bowl from bigger side and also against wind. Targeted leg-side and most of the times, I bowled top-spin. With the angle, it looks like it goes towards mid-wicket but it's top-spin, tough to hit.
[What do you think about the negative match-ups of not bowling off-spinners to right-handers] I don't know. It's negative mentality of coaches but it depends on the situation, pitch conditions and the ground size as well. If the bowlers are clever and use the condition accordingly, pitch it on the right areas, it will be tough to hit.
[How did you guys work out the surface] With the new ball, it skids on and then after that it holds a bit. The ball is a bit rough and it takes turn and bounce. That's why, we tried to bowl line and length and bring them under pressure."
[What do you think about the negative match-ups of not bowling off-spinners to right-handers] I don't know. It's negative mentality of coaches but it depends on the situation, pitch conditions and the ground size as well. If the bowlers are clever and use the condition accordingly, pitch it on the right areas, it will be tough to hit.
[How did you guys work out the surface] With the new ball, it skids on and then after that it holds a bit. The ball is a bit rough and it takes turn and bounce. That's why, we tried to bowl line and length and bring them under pressure."
Rovman Powell (Jamaica Kingsmen Captain): "[Three defeats in a row. The previous two were closely fought. This didn't feel decisive enough. How does that affect the psyche of the team?] think this is where captaincy and a good coaching staff come into play. We have to find ways of instilling confidence within the boys. But having said that, as players, we still need to put together a complete game.
[Over 400 runs scored on the same pitch a couple of nights ago. You guys didn't get going tonight. Was that because of a change in conditions? Was it because of exceptional Guyana bowling or just disappointing batting?] I think it was just disappointing batting. But having said that, you have to give credit to the Guyana bowlers. They found their lines and lengths pretty early. But I think as a batting group, whenever we got out, we got out pretty soft. Whenever we had a partnership, we didn't stretch it up for long.
[What are you going to say to these guys now to keep that belief going?] Just to lift their heads up; nobody's going to come from outside and lift our heads up for us. It's an opportunity, a great opportunity playing in a good competition. Cricket hasn't been played here for a while; therefore, the local talent has dwindled a little bit. So the guys will need a little bit of work. Tomorrow, we'll spend some time together instead of dispersing into our little groups. Spend some time together, and hopefully that brings us a little closer as a team.
[On the crowd support. What he has to say to them after these defeats at home?] Just be patient with us. If you know cricket, you see that it's a young team. Guys need help at this level. Not a lot of guys have a lot of experience playing in CPL at these conditions. Just be patient with us; come out again. Trinidad is a very good team. We will need your support against Trinidad, rallying around us. And I'm sure, I'm sure we'll turn it around at some point."
[Over 400 runs scored on the same pitch a couple of nights ago. You guys didn't get going tonight. Was that because of a change in conditions? Was it because of exceptional Guyana bowling or just disappointing batting?] I think it was just disappointing batting. But having said that, you have to give credit to the Guyana bowlers. They found their lines and lengths pretty early. But I think as a batting group, whenever we got out, we got out pretty soft. Whenever we had a partnership, we didn't stretch it up for long.
[What are you going to say to these guys now to keep that belief going?] Just to lift their heads up; nobody's going to come from outside and lift our heads up for us. It's an opportunity, a great opportunity playing in a good competition. Cricket hasn't been played here for a while; therefore, the local talent has dwindled a little bit. So the guys will need a little bit of work. Tomorrow, we'll spend some time together instead of dispersing into our little groups. Spend some time together, and hopefully that brings us a little closer as a team.
[On the crowd support. What he has to say to them after these defeats at home?] Just be patient with us. If you know cricket, you see that it's a young team. Guys need help at this level. Not a lot of guys have a lot of experience playing in CPL at these conditions. Just be patient with us; come out again. Trinidad is a very good team. We will need your support against Trinidad, rallying around us. And I'm sure, I'm sure we'll turn it around at some point."
Imran Tahir (Guyana Amazon Warriors Captain): "[What does it mean to start the tournament yet again with a win] It means everything, we worked hard to be where we are today. We won our first game, good start for us. We worked hard, the whole week we have been training. We don't want to take things for granted and that's what we showed today. I am really happy we have made a good start.
[How did you assess the conditions] Look, there was a bit of turn. I won't say it was a bad pitch. It was a decent pitch, you can get 170-180. I have to credit to our fast bowlers, especially Nabi, he is an experienced guy. We knew our plan before we came where we needed to bowl. Once you come and bowl couple of balls, you need to adjust to the conditions quickly and I think that is what we did really well.
[How quickly do you adapt from what you had planned to what you face] Look, it changes. You have your plan, what you are watching on screen it's not going to be the same. Every day is a new day. You have to have a professional approach when you give there. We can't give excuses. It was little bit slower than the previous game, other thing was dew which wasn't there. I still think we looked to bowl stump-to-stump and whenever we went outside, that's when one or two boundaries came. We knew what we needed to do and we stuck to our plan.
[What is about the captaincy that you enjoy the most] It's a responsibility and I take that as an honour. If I come to play any game for Guyana, it is my first and last. There are many Guyanese players who want to be here. If I am representing everybody, I have to take all the responsibility as a captain, as a bowler and whatever way I can benefit the team. I want to thank my team-mates, their hard-work and the way they prepared for this comp and the previous comps. There is no fault in this. I am really happy we have made a good start but we will make sure we carry on the same plan we have been doing over the years and hopefully this year as well."
[How did you assess the conditions] Look, there was a bit of turn. I won't say it was a bad pitch. It was a decent pitch, you can get 170-180. I have to credit to our fast bowlers, especially Nabi, he is an experienced guy. We knew our plan before we came where we needed to bowl. Once you come and bowl couple of balls, you need to adjust to the conditions quickly and I think that is what we did really well.
[How quickly do you adapt from what you had planned to what you face] Look, it changes. You have your plan, what you are watching on screen it's not going to be the same. Every day is a new day. You have to have a professional approach when you give there. We can't give excuses. It was little bit slower than the previous game, other thing was dew which wasn't there. I still think we looked to bowl stump-to-stump and whenever we went outside, that's when one or two boundaries came. We knew what we needed to do and we stuck to our plan.
[What is about the captaincy that you enjoy the most] It's a responsibility and I take that as an honour. If I come to play any game for Guyana, it is my first and last. There are many Guyanese players who want to be here. If I am representing everybody, I have to take all the responsibility as a captain, as a bowler and whatever way I can benefit the team. I want to thank my team-mates, their hard-work and the way they prepared for this comp and the previous comps. There is no fault in this. I am really happy we have made a good start but we will make sure we carry on the same plan we have been doing over the years and hopefully this year as well."
Most Wins in the CPL (Including Super Over Wins):
93 - Guyana Amazon Warriors*
92 - Trinbago Knight Riders
60 - Barbados Tridents
93 - Guyana Amazon Warriors*
92 - Trinbago Knight Riders
60 - Barbados Tridents
Guyana Amazon Warriors kick off their campaign with a commanding win. For Jamaica Kingsmen, they have now lost three in a row in their first CPL season. They have been disappointing to start with, but if you go by the Kingsmen's history, they are slow starters. In the PSL earlier, they lost their first four games, but then went onto make it to the final.
The action doesn't stop here. Up next in the CPL, we have St Lucia Kings vs Antigua and Barbuda Falcons tomorrow. At the same time, multiple matches are going live on our network. Bangladesh have taken a lead against Australia in Darwin, and many more mouth-watering contests come up for you.
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Karthik Raj, scorer Dushyant Madhukar Kumar and statistician Aman. We will meet again. Until then, it's cheers!