BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Kieron Pollard struck a dynamic half-century to revive Trinidad & Tobago and catapult them to a five-wicket victory over shell-shocked Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship on Saturday.
Pollard lived-up to his big-hitting reputation, when he dispatched the Leewards’ attack for one four and seven sixes in an unbeaten 53 from 20 balls as T&T successfully chased a target of 161 winning with six balls to spare in the sixth match of the competition.
Dwayne Bravo formalised the result for T&T, when he dragged a delivery from Leewards’ captain Wilden Cornwall, bowling his stiff medium-pace, through mid-on for a single.
The result meant that T&T became the second side behind Jamaica to guarantee themselves a place in the semi-finals in their homeland this coming Friday.
T&T will meet Jamaica on Wednesday on home soil, after the competition switches to Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, to determine which side tops Group-A.
Typical cavalier batting – led by Kerry Mentore with three fours and two sixes in 48 not out from 37 balls – propelled Leewards to 160 for seven from their allocation of 20 overs.
Consistent batting down the line helped the Leewards – Javier Liburd scored 39, Cornwall blitzed 22 from nine balls, and Kadeem Phillip made 20.
Dave Mohammed and Sherwin Ganga collected two wickets apiece to be the pick of the T&T bowling.
When Pollard walked to the crease, T&T’s innings was at the crossroads on 82 for five in the 14th over.
T&T had stumbled through the first 10 overs of their response, as Leewards’ new-ball bowlers Lionel Baker and Gavin Tonge gained appreciable bounce from the hard, true Kensington Oval pitch to put them on the back-foot.
Tonge had William Perkins caught at extra cover for a duck in the second over, and Lendl Simmons caught behind for 11 to leave T&T on 20 for two in the fourth over.
Spinners Justin Athanze and Anthony Martin then removed T&T captain Daren Ganga lbw for 17, and Adrian Barath caught at long-on for 13, as the Soca Boyz sunk to 51 for four in the ninth over.
When Cornwall bowled Denesh Ramdin for 21, T&T looked a beaten side, but fortune favoured them, when Baker twisted his ankle, and had to leave the field, forcing Cornwall to find another option in the closing over.
He turned to Tonito Willett, whose only over cost 27 runs, as Pollard indulged himself to race to one of the quickest 50s in List-A T20 cricket from 19 balls, and power T&T to the finish.
