Trinbago Knight Riders etched a comfortable 6-wicket win against Barbados Royals after chasing down an easy target of 94 runs in St Kitts. The TKR side had a disappointing start to the chase after losing the openers early but Colin Munro who had come in at number three held the fort from one end and remained unbeaten at 41 off 47.
Darrev Bravo and Tim Siefert chipped in with important contributions while Akeal Hosein remained not out for 12 off 5 as the Trinbago side chased down the target in the 17th over.
Mohammad Amir and Joshua Bishop were among the wickets for Barbados after both the bowlers scalped a couple of wickets apiece.
Earlier, the Trinbago spinners rattled the Barbados batting line up to restrict them to 93/9 in 20 overs. The Royals started off the proceedings in a decent manner as the openers Mayers and Charles put 24 runs on the board for the first wicket.
But Mayers dismissal saw a flurry of wickets in quick succession for the Barbados team and then were soon left tottering at 59/7.
Bishop though showed some resistance at the end of the innings and scored a 19-ball 17* that included a maximum and a four. Khary Pierre was the pick of the bowlers for TKR as he picked up a total of three wickets while Sunil Narine, Jayden Seales and Hosein bagged a couple of wickets apiece during the course.
Barbados captain Jason Holder admitted that the toss did play a massive role. “I think the toss was very crucial. There was a lot of moisture. It still played difficult as the Knight Riders also took 17 overs to chase down the total. It has been a tough campaign so far but the boys are still in good spirits,” he said after the match.
TKR skipper Kieron Pollard expressed his delight at the win and lauded the players for their efforts in the middle.
“Well done to the boys. We were struggling at the halfway stage of the tournament but we knew where we had to improve. This is the business end of the tournament and we have to nail down all the areas,” he said.
Barbados will now play Saint Lucia Kings on Saturday in St Kitts while TKR will be up against the Patriots on Sunday at the same venue.