Trinbago Knight Riders 155/3 (Pooran 54, Guptill 53*; Wasim 2/28, Green 1/29) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 154/8 (Wasim 62, Blackwood 29; Khan 3/27, Narine 2/29) by 7 wickets
Trinbago Knight Riders reached the summit of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table with a comfortable seven-wicket win against the Jamaica Tallawahs.
The Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field first and that was to prove to be an inspired decision as the Jamaica Tallawahs struggled to post a competitive total.
Other than Imad Wasim who hit a valiant 62 no one else was able to stick with him to help the Tallawahs pose a more challenging total than 154/8.
The Knight Riders were to make light of the chase as Nicholas Pooran followed up his unbeaten century with a rapid 54 off 35 balls. That knock laid the foundation and the Knight Riders were to chase down the remainder of the total with minimum fuss.
Earlier the Tallawahs found their innings choked by spin as Brandon King and Amir Jangoo fell inside the PowerPlay with the defending champions only reaching 29/2 at the end of the first six overs.
The squeeze continued outside the PowerPlay with the Tallawahs leaving themselves a lot to do at the backend as they reached 102/4 with five overs to go.
However, Imad Wasim made light of the pitch with a timely half-century off 26 balls but when he fell in the final over the Tallawahs were unable to add enough late blows to make their total a more threatening one.
The Trinbago Knight Riders chased down the 155 required with ease. Fifties from Nicholas Pooran (54) and Martin Guptill (53*) with the added theatrics of some Andre Russell muscle saw the Knight Riders see the game home with 16 balls to spare.