TKR reach final with straightforward win

TAROUBA, Trinidad, Sep 8, CMC – Trinbago Knight Riders clinched a spot in Saturday’s final of the Caribbean Premier League after they disposed of Guyana Amazon Warriors by six wickets in the third playoff at the Brian Lara Stadium here Thursday night.
Set 160 to win, they overhauled their target with two overs to spare, to reach their second final in three years.
New Zealander Colin Munro spearheaded the run chase with an unbeaten 57 off 51 balls while left-handed Darren Bravo struck a shot-filled 43 off 27 deliveries.

sent in earlier, Amazon Warriors gathered a competitive 159 for six off their 20 overs with Gajanand Singh top-scoring with 39 from 25 balls, opener Chadwick Walton getting 37 off 31 balls and Roshon Primus, a robust unbeaten 35 off a mere 18 deliveries.

Off-spinner Sunil Narine (2-21) and fast bowler Ronsford Beaton (2-30) claimed two wickets apiece.
Full of confidence following their impressive win over last year’s champions Jamaica Tallawahs on Wednesday night, Amazon Warriors made a less than solid start when Sohail Tanvir fell cheaply for eight with the score on 18 in the fourth over, lbw missing a sweep at Narine.
Two partnerships then underpinned the innings. Firstly, Walton combined with New Zealander Luke Ronchi, who made 23, to add 47 for the second wicket.
The Jamaican crunched three sixes in his knock and Ronchi, two fours off 21 balls, but both fell in a slide that saw three wickets perish for 27 runs in the space of 28 deliveries.
Singh and Primus then provided the late impetus in a fifth wicket stand worth 65 as Amazon Warriors consolidated well at the end.
The left-handed Singh smashed a four and three sides while Primus blasted four fours and a six.
In reply, TKR lost Narine cheaply for the umpteenth time, lbw to Tanvir off the first ball of the innings but any hopes Amazon Warriors had of running through the hosts’ innings were quickly dashed as Munro took charge.
The left-hander counted seven fours, adding 33 for the second wicket with Canadian Hamza Tariq (10) before putting on a match-winning 85 for the third wicket with Bravo, whose knock contained a pair of fours and four sixes.
Even when Bravo holed out in the deep off left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul in the 14^th over and older brother Dwayne Bravo departed nine balls later, TKR remained unfazed as Munro saw them home.