LAUDERHILL, Florida, CMC – Reigning champions Jamaica Tallawahs found themselves stifled by accurate Barbados Tridents bowling as their Caribbean Premier League title defence began with a 12-run loss at the Central Broward County Regional Park here Saturday.
Chasing a modest 143 for victory, the Tallawahs were subdued throughout their innings and crawled to 130 for six off their 20 overs.
Opener Lendl Simmons top-scored with 53 off 46 deliveries with six fours and a six while Andre McCarthy chipped in with 22 from 30 balls.
But Tallawahs, without their talisman Chris Gayle for the first time in five years, lacked firepower and the innings never found momentum.
Pakistani Shoaib Malik … top-scored with 33. They were struggling on 67 for one after 10 overs and requiring 52 runs from the last five overs, they managed to extract only 40 runs.
Man-of-the-Match left-arm spinner, Akeal Hosein, was the best bowler with two for 24 from his four overs while leg-spinner Imran Khan was brilliant, conceding just nine runs from his three overs.
Veteran Sri Lanka star Kumar Sangakkara suffered the indignity of a first-ball ‘duck’ when he was caught at backward point by New Zealander Kane Williamson in the second over with the score on 15.
Simmons and McCarthy then put on 62 for the second wicket but the partnership was pedantic and it put a drag on the innings. And when rising West Indies star Rovman Powell (13) failed to fire, it left Tallawahs in a further predicament.
Earlier, Pakistani Shoaib Malik top-scored with 33 while opener Dwayne Smith chipped in with 28 to get the innings going after Tridents opted to bat first.
South African Wayne Parnell supported down the order with 25 while Hosein struck an unbeaten 22.
Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim (2-16), left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie (2-24) and pacer Kesrick Williams (2-24) all claimed two wickets each.
Smith and Williamson (13) put on 32 for the first wicket off 36 deliveries but the innings declined badly as five wickets perished for 46 runs to leave Tridents on 78 for five in the 14th over.
Shoaib then combined with Parnwell to rally the innings in a 33-run, sixth wicket stand before Hosein joined in at the end.
