Sourced Information: Zouks On Fire
There was one team that arrived in the second semi final of the 2020 CPL, as the St.Lucia Zouks completely steamrolled the Guyana Amazon Warriors to make it to their first ever final of the Hero Caribbean Premier League. A powerful performance by all their bowlers meant that the Zouks needed just 56 to win the semi final, and managed to get there with all wickets in the bank.
Scott Kuggeleijn gave the Zouks the perfect start to the semis, as two of the experienced members of the Warriors’ batting order were back in the hut without a run being added to the scoreboard. First to go was Brandon King, caught behind by Andre Fletcher and next to walk back was the Warriors’ leading run getter Shimron Hetmyer, knocked over by the Kiwi pacer.
Things got worse for the batting side shortly after, as the in-form Nicholas Pooran sheepishly tried to hit Mohammad Nabi for a six, but only found the fielder at long-off. The three quick wickets put Daren Sammy’s side firmly in control, and they consolidated their position with a barrage of dot balls, despite the field restrictions in place.
The scoreboard pressure was evident, and made even a seasoned cricketer like Ross Taylor play a reckless shot, as he tried to sweep Roston Chase across the line of the ball, only to be trapped in front of the wicket. Chase struck again in his next over, enticing Keemo Paul to play a loose shot to the fielder in the deep, leaving the batting side at 33/5 after nine overs.
It took until the 10th over to get the first six of the innings, as a longhop from Zahir Khan was sent into the night sky by Chandrapaul Hemraj. Skipper Chris Green joined the act as well for the Warriors, getting a six off the first ball after the drinks again. The 26-year-old’s carnage however was restricted to that one slash, as he could only find the fielder at deep mid-wicket while attempting the same shot a second time.
Things got even more pear shaped for the Warriors shortly after, as their last recognised batsmen in Hemraj dragged one back onto his stumps in the 13th over off Mark Deyal’s bowling. Deyal got a second scalp the very next ball, with Romario Shepherd chipping one straight into his palms.
Zahir Khan got amongst the wickets as well the next over, accounting for the wickets of both Kevin Sinclair and Imran Tahir, the latter coming courtesy of a neat low catch from Rahkeem Cornwall to bring an end to the first innings. The Guyana Amazon Warriors were bundled out for 55, scoring the second lowest total in the history of the Caribbean Premier League.
Second Innings
Rahkeem Cornwall took little time to settle in for the Zouks, getting two massive sixes off the very first over of the chase. Fellow opener Mark Deyal too got into the act in the next over, getting back-to-back fours to push the team score to 26 after two overs.
The aggression continued when pace was introduced into the attack as well, as Naveen-ul-Haq’s first over went for 16 runs, aided by a four from Cornwall and a six from Deyal. Cornwall added a third six off his night in the next over, walloping Tahir down the leg side. Deyal ended that over with a four down towards square leg, to leave the Zouks at 53 after four overs.
Cornwall then had the good fortune of scoring the winning runs for his team, getting them off a slightly fortuitous outside edge to get the St.Lucia Zouks over the line with 93 balls to spare.
St.Lucia Zouks play the finals on Thursday, September 10 against the Trinbago Knight Riders.
Brief Scorecard:
Guyana Amazon Warriors: 55/10, 13.4 overs (Chandrapaul Hemraj 25, Mark Deyal 2/2)
St.Lucia Zouks: 56/0, 4.3 overs (Rahkeem Cornwall 32, Naveen-ul-Haq 0/16)
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