Mavendra Dindyal and Shimron Hetmyer Power Guyana Amazon Warriors to Victory over St. Lucia Kings

The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, St. Lucia returns to the forefront on Wednesday as the Guyana Amazon Warriors return to action to take on the St. Lucia Kings. While the Amazon Warriors are unchanged the Kings made 3 changes from Sunday’s contest. Kamil Pooran, Darren Nedd and Andries Gous return for Johann Jeremiah, Jewel Andrew and Khari Campbell. This will be Gous’s last game before departing the club.

On a start stop night due to bursts of rain, it would be a 10 ball blast from the Amazon Warriors that scored 36 runs that was the difference as the Guyana Amazon Warriors start their campaign 2 from 2 as they defeated the St. Lucia Kings by 7 wickets.

After being sent into bat first, the St. Lucia Kings looked to be humming along with Andries Gous and Kamil Pooran back at the top of the order. That would change in the 4th over when Dwaine Pretorius would pick up the first of his 2 wickets in the power play. Pooran had already gone for a 4 and 2 sixes before edging a short ball into the waiting gloves of Shai Hope to depart on 19 from 9.

We would see the first of 3 first innings interruptions in the 5th over, a 20 minute rain delay putting a pause on the fast start the Kings had. With the resumption of play though the scoring would slowly come to a crawl. That would start with the 2nd to last ball of the power play. Gous would take another short ball and put it into the wind, Shimron Hetmyer making a regulation catch. Gous would depart for 20 and the power play would end 51-2.

There aren’t many sides like the Amazon Warriors with the ball in hand. They know how to keep the scoreboard pressure up on a side trying to post a first innings total. 25 runs would come for the next 4 overs with the loss of another 2 wickets. Imran Tahir would get the wicket of Ackeem Auguste at long on in the 7th over, Hetmyer making a remarkable catch coming in from the rope to make the grab. Shamar Joseph and Roston Chase would get into a battle of short deliveries that ultimately was won by Joseph when Chase went to deep fine leg and Romario Shepherd.

At 76-4 Charith Asalanka and Darren Nedd couldn’t get the scoreboard ticking along. Having to settle for singles and the occasional 2, the bowling limited the 5 wicket partnership to only 46 runs. Between short balls, spin and pace, the run rate dropped briefly under 7s. Shamar Joseph would end his 4 over spell 2-25 while Dwaine Pretorius finished 3-29.

The 16th over would see the 2nd rain delay, and a wicket not too long after the resumption of play. Between rain delays, Darren Nedd would go to mid off where Mohammad Nabi navigated the rain drops to make a siding catch before going off for the final rain delay. Matthew Forde would make a 14 run cameo before falling, Asalanka only getting 35 in his extended stay before his innings ended.

After scoring 51 in the power play, the Kings only picked up 100 in the final 14 overs to see their innings end 151-7, a score that on the surface looked to be 20 runs below par.

St. Lucia Kings went right into the attack mode to start the power play, Amari Goodridge and Matthew Forde straight into bowl. After a positive first over spell from both, Goodridge would be rocked for 16 in his second over, Forde only going for 5. After Maheesh Theekshana was called upon in the 5th, and limiting Guyana to 5 runs it was looking like the Kings were going to win the power play phase. In a gamble that backfired on Roston Chase, Forde would be called upon to bowl the 6th over of the power play. After 15 came from the 6th thanks to 3 wide deliveries, 4 additional coming from the first wide, Guyana Amazon Warriors were 14 above the DLS par total should rain come at 48-0.

Rain made a brief appearance in the 7th over, the grounds crew doing an exceptional job getting the covers on and off in a timely manner. In 4 rain delays on the night, 0 overs were lost. The break did Mavendra Dindyal a world of good, as he was slow to get started at the crease. Glenn Phillips coached him along in the middle during the first wicket partnership.

The Kings just couldn’t buy a wicket. It would only be after the mid inning drinks break did the Kings strike. Dindyal should have departed on 28, Goodridge dropping what should have been a routine catch. Joshua Bishop would pick up the first wicket of the innings a ball later when Phillips didn’t get enough on a shot to long on, Matthew Forde making the catch.

But the runs kept ticking along and Dindyal was close to a half century. That would come in the 14th over when Forde dropped him on 49. Mavendra Dindyal’s first half century in the CPL would be short lived, he’d be gone 2 balls later when he swung and missed on a slower delivery, Andries Gous getting a routine stumping to end Dindyal’s innings on 50 from 51 balls.

The closest the contest got to par was in the 16th over when Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer only picked up 2 runs. Still, the Amazon Warriors were 3 above the par target. Once Hope edged to Gous with the gloves in the 17th it was go time for the Amazon Warriors. The last 10 balls would see 4 fours and 3 sixes from Sampson and Hetmyer to see Guyana over the line with 11 balls remaining.