BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados Pride disposed of Trinidad and Tobago Red Force by 32 runs here late Sunday night, to complete the preliminary round double over their arch-rivals and return to the top of Group A in the Regional Super50.
Choosing to bat first in a key day/night encounter at Kensington Oval, Pride were held to 235 for seven off their 50 overs, with Roston Chase stroking 46 and Shai Hope getting 45.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite gathered 34, all-rounder Jason Holder struck 32 while Carlos Brathwaite chipped in with 31 and Jonathan Carter, 30.
Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel led the Red Force attack with two for 43 while West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine produced a miserly 10-over spell which cost just 33 runs, and kept the brakes on the Pride scoring.
Red Force, however, failed to make the most of a straightforward run chase and were dismissed for 203 in the 49th over.
Isaiah Rajah top-scored with 39 on his regional one-day debut while Imran Khan struck 33 and tail-ender Sheldon Cottrell, 30, but the visitors were always under pressure once they crashed to 127 for eight in the 37th over.
Holder was excellent with the new ball, grabbing the first three wickets to fall to end with four for 38 while partner Kemar Roach finished with two or 34.
The victory for the hosts was their second over Red Force in the competition following the opening day result, and it moved them to 23 points while Red Force remaining on 23 in second.
Pride lost Kevin Stoute cheaply for five in the in the fifth over but Kraigg Brathwaite and Hope rallied the innings in a 53-run, second wicket stand.
Brathwaite had faced 53 balls and struck five fours when he was caught at backward point off left-arm spinner Khary Pierre but Hope added a further 47 for the third with Carter, to keep Pride going.
Hope notched four boundaries in an 80-ball knock while Carter faced 46 deliveries and struck two fours, but both fell within close proximity of each other to leave Pride on 138 for four in the 35th over.
Holder then featured in two key stands to get Pride up to their eventual score. The Windies Test and one-day captain first put on 35 for the fifth wicket with Chase who hit six fours and a six in a brisk 41-ball innings.
Then, Holder helped forge a 53-run, sixth wicket stand off 47 balls with Carlos Brathwaite who belted two fours and a six in his 28-ball knock.
Red Force endured a timid start to their run chase, slipping to 34 for three in the eighth as Tion Webster (10), Amir Jangoo (15) and captain Denesh Ramdin (3) all fell cheaply.
Webster brushed a leg-side pull at Holder and was caught at the wicket by Hope, Jangoo lobbed a simple catch to Stoute at mid-on while Ramdin was lbw to one which came back a fraction.
The innings was then propped up by a 58-run, fourth wicket stand between Rajah and Pooran, but the partnership was a slow one requiring 113 deliveries.
When Pooran wafted at a widish one from Carlos Brathwaite and nicked a catch behind, Red Force were languishing on 92 for four at the end of the 26th over.
His dismissal triggered a slide that saw five wickets tumble for 35 runs, and which left Pride in command of the contest.
Imran Khan and Cottrell produced a rearguard effort in adding 59 for the ninth wicket but by the time Cottrell departed in 47th over, the required run rate had climbed to well over 12 an over, leaving Red Force needing a miracle which never came.
