SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, CMC – West Indies star Sunil Narine slammed a half-century for Bengal Tigers but Chris Gayle’s Kerala Knights still managed to beat them by seven wickets in the T10 League here yesterday.
Sent in, Tigers got up to a competitive 123 for five off their allotted 10 overs, with the left-handed Narine top-scoring with 52 off 25 balls and West Indies selectee Sherfane Rutherford chipping in with 39 off 17 deliveries.
The pair put on a rousing 57 off 27 balls for the second wicket after Tigers lost England’s Luke Wright for nine in the third over with the score on 35.
Narine belted four fours and sixes while Rutherford, who toured India for the Twenty20 series last month but failed to play a match, punched four fours and three sixes.
In reply, Gayle crunched two fours and a six in 19 off 10 balls but it was England’s Jonny Bairstow, fresh from the Test series win over Sri Lanka last week, who fired Knights to victory with a splendid, T20 record-high unbeaten 84 off 24 balls with six fours and eight sixes.
West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran, meanwhile, kept up his excellent run of form with an unbeaten 45 off 18 deliveries as his Northern Warriors chased down a modest 65 to beat Rajputs by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare.
He struck four fours and sixes but lost former West Indies star Dwayne Smith (8) and Jamaican Kennar Lewis (4) fell cheaply.
West Indies T20 skipper Carlos Brathwaite had earlier failed with six in Rajputs’ 64 for eight off their 10 overs.
