Published: Jul 31, 2016, 01:35 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 31, 2016, 03:18 PM (IST)
Andre Fletcher’s half-century helped St Lucia Zouks (SLZ) to beat by 63 runs Jamaica Tallawahs (JT) and secure their spot in the Caribbean Premier League (2016) Playoffs. Along with Fletcher his opening duo Johnson Charles added more fire with his half-century and their opening stand of 89 runs built the momentum of the game. Although Shakib Al-Hasan drew the first blood, Shane Watson’s crucial 43 runs helped SLZ to reach the 200-run mark. Skipper Darren Sammy added his final touch with a classic six to bring up 206 on board against Chris Gayle’s JT. ALSO READ: Charles powers SLZ to 9-wicket win over GAW in CPL 2016
Chasing the target, JT’s skipper – Gayle was knocked out too soon while Kumar Sangakkara departed within the Powerplay. The case got weaker despite subdued partnership between opening batsman Chadwick Walton with his score of 54 and Alex Ross, who added 27 runs on board. After some smashing batting performance, SLZ showed their bowling talents as well and restricted JT to 143 paving their way to the playoffs. Delorn Johnson and Jerome Taylor continued the spirit and rocked JT with three and two wickets respectively. Sammy and Shane Shillingford got wicket apiece at the end of their JT innings.
As for SLZ, Charles and Fletcher built up the momentum with their boundaries within 10 overs. Charles knock of 59 included 7 fours and 2 sixes while Fletcher’s unbeaten score of 74 saw 4 fours and 4 sixes. Icing on the cake was when Watson added his 43 runs to the already misery witnessed by JT with his 5 sixes and a four. David Miller who entered after Watson, could stay longer and was gone for 13. Kesrick Williams did try his luck and was fortunate enough to receive 2 wickets while Shakib went away with one. ALSO READ: CricketCountry CricbattleDaily Fantasy Cricket League Tips: SLZ v TKR on July 27
With players like Shakib and Andre Russell, who were unable to leave an impression in today’s crucial game, the last few overs pretty much belonged to Ross and Walton, who were unable to push their limits even beyond 150-run mark. At the end, SLZ were happy with their all-round performance and found comprehensive victory against Gayle’s JT.
Brief Scores:
St Lucia Zouks 206 for 3 in 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 74*, Johnson Charles 59, Shanw Watson 43; Kesrick Williams 2 for 28) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 143 for 8 in 20 overs (Chadwick Walton 54, Alex Ross 23; Derlon Johnson 3 for 30, Jerome Taylor 2 for 34) by 64 runs
