International Cricket Update: Jamaica Tallawahs beat Barbados Royals by six wickets in the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) here, with Kennar Lewis' fast 89, the best score of the competition thus far.
After electing to bat on Tuesday night, the Royals produced a solid 151 for 8, thanks to Azam Khan's fluent 50 off just 30 balls. Tallawahs, on the other hand, knocked down the mark in 17.4 overs, thanks to some superb batting from Lewis, who was ably backed by Shamarh Brooks (47 not out off 26 balls).
After electing to bat, the Barbados Royals were quickly put in difficulties, losing important batsmen Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers in the Powerplay to Fidel Edwards, who was making his maiden appearance in this year's Hero CPL. Azam and Phillips spearheaded the recovery drive, putting up a 71-run combination off 51 balls to lay the groundwork for the squad.
At the end of the innings, Joshua Bishop smashed 18 off 8 balls to help his team reach a decent score. Rovman Powell led by example with three superb catches in the field, while Migael Pretorius was the outstanding bowler for the Tallawahs, collecting four wickets.
Tallawahs' reaction was led by Lewis, who kept his team in the game despite losing early wickets to Joshua Bishop's spin, including skipper Powell, who was removed by a brilliant piece of fielding as Jason Holder held on to his shot with one hand at long-off during the live T20 match.
The Barbados Royals will rue their misfortune when ace bowler Mohammad Amir was forced to leave the field hurt during the second innings. The Jamaica Tallawahs have moved up to second place in the Hero CPL standings after their victory.