BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Kennar Lewis’s tournament 89 condemned Barbados Royals to their third defeat, as Jamaica Tallawahs bounced back strongly with a six-wicket victory and their second in three outings here Tuesday night.
Chasing 152 at Warner Park, Tallawahs recovered from 50 for three in the eighth wicket to get over the line in the 18th over, Man-of-the-Match Lewis crunching nine fours and five massive sixes in a robust 53-ball knock.
While the Jamaican opted for braun, Barbadian Shamarh Brooks chose the route of elegance, stroking a silky unbeaten 47 off 26 balls with four fours and two sixes, the pair adding a match-winning 93 for the fourth wicket.
“I think the most impressive thing was the batting unit. To get 150, 160 on that wicket is pleasing,” said Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell.
“So far so good. Kennar has been a bright light so far. Hopefully he can continue for the duration of the competition. We still have a lot of areas to work on.”
Royals, fifth in standings in two points, have now won just once – a 15-run victory over Tallawahs last weekend – while Tallawahs are second on four points from two wins from three fixtures. Not for the first time, Royals had a nightmare start, veteran speedster Fidel Edwards (2-32) removing Shai Hope (9) and Kyle Mayers (0) with successive deliveries in the third over, and opener Johnson Charles (13) and Holder (0) perishing in the space of five balls, to leave the innings in ruins at 30 for four in the sixth over. Azam Khan stepped up to belt 50 off 30 balls with five fours and three sixes, putting on an invaluable 71 for the fifth wicket with Glenn Phillips, who struck three fours and a six in an easy-paced 31 off 29 deliveries, as Royals reached 151 for eight off their 20 overs.
“I just don’t think we had enough runs on the board. Obviously being four down in the power-play isn’t ideal and we’re always made to catch up,” said a stony-faced Royals skipper Jason Holder.
“The partnership there with Azam and Glenn really brought us back into the game and really gave us a chance – credit to two of them. But unfortunately they probably didn’t go deep enough as we would like, and I don’t think we fielded well [either].”
Left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop (3-20), in for his first match of the campaign, kept Royals in the contest by removing Chadwick Walton (4), Haider Ali (1) and Powell (3) cheaply before Lewis flexed his muscle and Brooks flaunted his style to bail their side out in the run chase.
Royals muffed a glorious opportunity to claw themselves back into the game when Mohammed Amir put down Lewis on 50 in the 14th over off Holder, with 56 runs still required for victory.
