Rahkeem Cornwall in action for St Lucia Zouks (Twitter/StLuciaZouks)CPL 2020, BT vs SLZ Highlights: The St Lucia Zouks won a rain-shortened match vs Barbados Tridents on Thursday by 7 wickets, chasing down 47 in 5 overs.
Batting first, the Barbados Tridents got off to an attacking start but unraveled in the middle overs in the CPL match vs St Lucia Zouks on Thursday. Johnson Charles (35) gave them the perfect platform to put on a big total. Mohammad Nabi (1/19) and the Zouks’ part-time spinners tightened the noose on the scoring from then on, however. When play resumed, St Lucia Zouks needed to chase down 47 in 5 overs. Rashid Khan struck early as Rahkeem Cornwall was stumped after he gave them a flier. Mohammad Nabi (15) and Andre Fletcher (16) kept the fireworks going, completing the chase with 5 balls to spare. Nabi was named the Man of the Match.
Fletcher hits the winning runs, drives for four, and holds his pose for the photographers. The Zouks have won by 7 wickets. The Tridents will be thinking rain would have hurt their chances after they chose to bat first. But it's Sammy's Zouks who have won today and gotten off on the points table.
Now Andre Fletcher gets into the act. Rashid Khan bleeds runs. Goes short and Fletcher rocks back and pulls him for a mighty hit on the leg side. Brings it down to just 2 runs to get. Ends the fourth over with a single. Scores level. The Zouks need 1 to win in 1 over. Sammy will stay at the non-striker's end as the winning runs are hit.
Six. Four. Out - That's how the Rashid vs Nabi battle turned out. Rashid has the last laugh but Nabi's two huge shots to start the 3rd over has bruised the opposition. He falls for 15 off 6 balls. Sammy walks out at 5 with the Zouks needing only 8 off 9 balls.
Reifer bowls a full toss outside off stump. Najibullah Zadran heaves the ball to long off for a four. Reifer follows up with a slower ball and the batsman cannot connect. The third ball is a short ball. Zadran pulls but finds the fielder on the shorter boundary. Zadran goes for 5. Nabi walks out at 4, living up to Ian Bishop's expectations of him. Zouks 24/2 after 2.2
Najibullah Zadran comes out at 3. Ian Bishop says he expects Nabi and Sammy to put up their hands to come out next. Not Roston Chase. He wants the heavy artillery out earlu. Raymon Reifer bowls the 3rd over with the Zouks needing 27 in 3 overs.
Rashid Khan bowls the 2nd over as Holder pulls out his trump card in the 2nd over itself. Cornwall gets a single with an ungly heave. Fletcher picks up on a short ball to pull to square leg for four. Rashid Khan zips it into Cornwall, squaring him up, for a rare fot ball. The Cornwall steps out of his crease, misses the ball and is stumped out. Cornwall is out for 14 off 8 balls. Zouks 19/1 after 1.5 overs
Holder begins. He bowls the 1st over himself. Cornwall on strike. Gets a boundary fortuitously. Edge runs down for four. Cornwall gets another boundary with an edge, this time to fine leg. The fourth ball of the over is creamed through the covers for another four. This chase is off to a cracking start. A tennis swat gets him a single off the 5th ball. Fletcher sees out a duck. SLZ 13/0 after 1 over
5 overs. 47 runs. 10 wickets. Each bowler can bowl a maximum of 2 overs. Cornwall and Andre Fletcher step out for the Zouks. It's fireworks time! Holder's bowling changes will be interesting to see, like selecting penalty kick takers.
We will have a 5-over chase! The rain has stopped. The Zouks need to chase 47 in 5 overs to win.
All the covers are off. The umpires walk out to the middle for one final look. Cut-off time for the match is less than 20 minutes away. The umpires, incidentally, still have their umbrellas with them. And would you believe that! The rain starts again! The covers come back on one by one as frantic ground staff run about. This looks to be the death knell for this match, folks. Some of the players still milling about hopefully though. El Presidente, Nabi, is down to his vests though, seen on the sidelines.
Some of the players seen walking out to the middle to do a bit of inspection of their own. The covers remain on the pitches. The umpires, with umbrellas in hand, walk out of the ground - possibly still not convinced - as the Zouks get a team meeting going in the middle with coach Andy Flower also joining in. Tridents skipper Jason Holder intercepts the umpires at the boundary line. Holder, ingterestingly has the ball in hand. And the covers are coming off!
The ground staff are in the middle trying to mp up the puddles. The umpires out in the middle too for an inspection of the conditions. The cut-off for a 5-over chase is 23:13 IST. Which is 50 minutes from now. Chances of resumption are looking brighter than they have so far though.
The rain has abated but with a slight drizzle continuing, the ground staff are still hanging around the periphery of the ground. The umpires are yet to be seen in the middle either. Important to note that a 5-over-per-side is all that is required for a result. Likely that the chase will start with a curtailed target if and when we get play. The Zouks will need to chase 47 off 5 overs if that happens. A little over one hour remaining before a final call on the match can be taken, if the drizzle does not subside.
The rain has stopped but puddles have formed on the outfield as well on the covers, which are still firmly in place over the pitch. We shall have an update and when and how (how many overs curtailed) play can resume at 10 pm IST.
Visuals from the ground show that the rain has dramatically increased in volume. And sounds of thunder to boot. Might be a while before we get play, or even update on further play.
And the umpires take the players off with rain starting to get heavy. We are off with the Tridents at 131/7 after 18.1 overs. We have a rain stoppage! DLS comes into the picture. Let's wait to see when action can resume again.
Kesrick Williams gives away 5 runs in the 18th over. But there's a bigger threat looming here. With dark clouds hovering, there's a lot of concern around the ground. The umpires have a word with the ground staff. The staff are ready with the covers in case they are required. We are fine for now though. Kuggeleijn bowls the 19th. BT 131/7
Kuggeleijn, who landed the first blows for the Zouks in the Powerplay, comes back to end the bowling innings. Nurse muscles the ball through the covers and just manages to beat the fielder for four runs. A boundary coming after a long while for the Tridents. Kuggeleijn gives away 11 runs in his over, again proving it's spin for the win on this track today. BT 125/7 after 17
The Tridents had a great Powerplay but have added only 57 runs for 5 wickets since then. Sammy continues with his spinners, Chase comes back to bowl a second over. 4 runs come off the over. Chase's figueres 2/8 after two overs. BT 114/7 after 16
Deyal, the mystery spinner in the Zouks' ranks, bowls the 15th over. Models his carrom ball around Sunil Narine's. And he gets a wicket straightaway! The 8th bowler bowled by Sammy today, and again the bowling change does the trick. Reifer is out, Andre Fletcher takes a great catch after an inside edge from the batsman goes to the keeper. The last 10 balls have seen 7 runs and 3 wickets fall! Santner comes out at 9. BT 109/7 after 14.3
Roston Chase strike again! Kyle Mayers gives a catch to Kuggeleijn at third man first ball. Ashley Nurse, in at 7, and Raymon Reifer, in at 8, are the two new men in as Chase bowls a hat-trick ball. Reifer plays out the hat-trick ball, but the Tridents have had a bit of an unravelling in the middle overs. BT 107/6 after 14
Nabi comes back to bowl his last over. And again hurries through the over without the batsmen noticing. Jonathan Carter, in at 6, is a left hander and he has some trouble dealing with the finger spin from Nabi. Nabi finishes his 4 overs with figures of 1/19. Roston Chase comes on to bowl the 14th over, with spin proving to be hard to put away. The Tridents have a spin attack brimming with talent. Chase strikes in his first over! Nabi takes a catch running in from long off. Carter falls cheaply. He goes for 5. BT 105/5 after 13.2
Mayers cannot connect as cleanly as Kesrick strays with his line. Gets a couple of runs with a thick edge. Holder has much better fortune though. Threads a shot through the covers for four. But Holder makes an error off the last ball. Hits a shot that goes more high than it does long. Sammy comes around at long on to take the catch. Kesrick, who has been expensive, gets the big wicket. Holder falls for 27 off 12 balls. BT 98/4 after 12
The Zouks go to Cornwall for the 11th over. Another direct hit missed and again Holder has some luck going his way. Both batsmen into double digits now. Holder flicks a powerful shot as Cornwall goes too full and the ball goes over the fence after one drop. And Holder goes big in the same area again. Six! Holder is hitting these big shots with minimal effort. 14 runs come off the over. BT 91/3 after 11
Kesrick Williams comes to bowl the 10th over. Roston Chase misses a direct hit that would have got Jason Holder run out by miles. Mayers clears his feet and crashes a few shots but they are stopped in the deep. Holder, looking to play a more proactive role with the bat this season, times a great shot for two on the off side. And follows up with a cleanly timed pull for six to cow corner. BT 77/3 after 10
Shai Hope pulls with all his might but the catch is taken in the deep as the pressure tells on the Tridents. Hope goes for 19 off 16. Nabi, who has been economical so far, gets his first wicket. Mayers is joined by skipper Jason Holder at 5. BT 65/3 after 9. Nabi with sensational figures of 1/14 from 3 overs.
Another tight over of spin from Nabi. The new man, Mayers, is cramped for room throughout the over, he manages to take a single only off the last ball of the over. 2 runs come off the over. Mayers is on strike as McCoy comes back to attempt to bowl a better over than his first one. He struggles with his line in this over too, bowls a wide. Mayers lofts him on the leg side but only gets one. Hope ends the over with a couple. BT 63/2 after 8
Hope gets another fortunate boundary as a thick edge cannot be stopped by McCoy at third man. In at 4 is new talent Kyle Mayers. Another great over from Kuggeleijn brings the Powerplay to an end, with BT 53/2 after 6 overs
Kuggeleijn strikes again! Gets his countryman Corey Anderson. Anderson's shot flew to Roston Chase. The umpires have a check whether the ball was higher than waist-high but the decision remains OUT. Anderson has another disappointing outing. He goes for 2. BT 47/1 after 5.1
Shai Hope finally gets to be on strike for one ball. And gets off the mark with an edgy punt down the ground. Kuggeleijn makes an impact in the 4th over after being hit for six off his first ball. Sammy goes to Nabi for the fifth over, with spin being harder to get away to the fence. Shai Hope goes for a wild swing but fails to find the middle of the bat. Anderson more content to stroke the ball into the infield for quick singles. Hope gets two boundaries to end the over, the second one a convincing stroke down the ground. BT 47/1 after 5
Sammy goes to Kuggeleijn for the 4th over, given the pounding McCoy took. But Charles gives him a royal welcome too! Cracks him for a six to cow corner to start off the over. Stand and deliver stuff from Charles. Mistimes a lofted shot, almost to a diving Sammy's hands at mid off, but gets the placement just right and picks up 2 runs. But Sammy gets his hands to it as Charles tries to play the same shot again. Charles goes for a blinder of an innings, 35 off 19 balls. BT 35/1 after 3.3
Zafar continues bowling from the other end. Charles swings at him too, buit fails to find the perfect connection. Thrice Charles tries to rock back and find the gap on the off side but thrice the ball is stopped in the infield. Manages to get a single down the ground for a single. Charles on 27 off 16 balls. Hope has just faced 2 balls for no runs so far. BT 27/0 after 3
Obed McCoy from the St Vincent and Grenadines bowls the first over of pace in the match. His Windwards Islands FC teammate Johnson Charles picks up on two short balls from him to start the over - A four and six towards fine leg. Calls for two with a push towards fine leg and puts in a dive to get back to his crease just in time. Crashes McCoy for another four through the covers later in the over. McCoy struggles to find his line. Ends the over with a single. 17 off the over. BT 24/0 after 2
Saad bin Zafar, the only new player in the team today, to start the first over for the Zouks. Johnson Charles takes guard one stump away from his leg stump. Makes room and crashes the first ball of the match through the off side for four. Zafar drags his line to the leg side, Charles picks up two on the other side. Hope starts with more caution. Sent back by Johnson as he calls for a single off the last ball. BT 7/0 after 1
We are now less than 5 minutes away from the first ball. The teams have taken the field. Sammy gets his boys in a huddle. A big Nabi vs Rashid Afghan battle also set to be on the cards today. The Tridents to start their innings with Johnson Charles and Shai Hope. They need their big-name batsmen to fire today.
Samuel Badree and Darren Ganga say today will be a test for both the teams' top orders. Ganga says Sammy must show some positive intent, perhaps by promoting himself up the order. Meanwhile, this is what the captains had to say at the toss.
Daren Sammy - We would have probably bowled first, we will have to come out and do the right thing. The pitch will not change too much, need to bowl well. I will do what's necessary for my team, if that means I have to bat higher in the order, I might do so. We have made one change - Saad Bin Zafar comes in for Zahir Khan, that's the only change
Jason Holder - We will bat first. Want to put runs on the board, it worked well last time around. We need to do the basics well, Corey has recovered well from the blow to his head. No changes for us.
Barbados Tridents have won the toss and have opted to bat.
Playing XIs:
St Lucia Zouks: Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher(w), Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Daren Sammy(c), Scott Kuggeleijn, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Saad Bin Zafar
Barbados Tridents: Johnson Charles, Shai Hope(w), Corey Anderson, Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder(c), Jonathan Carter, Raymon Reifer, Mitchell Santner, Ashley Nurse, Rashid Khan, Hayden Walsh
The middle order of both sides had to stage recoveries of their batting innings for both these sides. Roston Chase was the star for the Zouks. The Tridents' spinners did the job for them in the last match. Which way will the cookie crumble today? Toss and team updates coming up.
The second round of matches in CPL 2020 continues with St Lucia Zouks taking on Barbados Tridents. Cornwall, Chase, Nabi Sammy, Kuggeleijn, Kesrick some of the names to look out for in the Zouks team. Jason Holder leads the Tridents, and has the likes of Rashid Khan, Corey Anderson, Shai Hope, Santner, Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter to bank on. Toss at 7 pm IST.