Jamaica Tallawahs 145 for 6 (Walton 51*, Holder 2-21, Walsh 2-32) beat Barbados Tridents 140 for 9 (Nurse 37, Duminy 31, Zahir 3-20, Worker 2-16, Lewis 2-23) by four wickets
An unbeaten half-century by newly appointed captain Chadwick Walton and a strong show by their spinners gave Jamaica Tallawahs their first win in five matches in CPL 2019.
Chasing 141 for victory, Walton, who became Tallawahs' third captain this season after Chris Gayle and Rovman Powell, saw wickets tumble around him but kept his calm and struck five sixes and a four in his 42-ball 51 not out and took his side over the line with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, Barbados Tridents could manage only 140 for 9 after being put in as the Tallawahs spinners kept the batsmen on a tight leash. George Worker started by dismissing Alex Hales and Johnson Charles, Ramaal Lewis restricted the middle order and Zahir Khan's variations proved too much for the lower order as the three combined to return 7 for 59 from ten overs. It would have been even worse had Ashley Nurse not scored an 18-ball 37 from No. 7.
Tallawahs spinners weave a web
Opening the bowling with two left-arm spinners seemed to be backfiring when Hales smashed Worker for two sixes in the second over. But Worker had his man in the same over when Hales cut him straight to Lewis. Charles, the other opener, too fell in the same way in Worker's next over. A short and wide delivery was asking to be cut but extra bounce did Charles in as Lewis took his second catch at backward point.
Lewis then accounted for Leniko Boucher as the batsman handed him a simple return catch. Jason Holder failed to read a wrong'un from left-arm wristspinner Zahir and was caught at slip, and Jonathan Carter became Lewis' second victim when he ended up slicing a lofted hit to long-off.
Nurse tries to stop the bleeding
Despite coming in at 70 for 5, Nurse straightaway took to attack, hitting Christopher Lamont for a sequence of 6, 4 and 4. Two overs later, he muscled Zahir for back-to-back sixes as he and JP Duminy added 49 in just 27 balls for the sixth wicket. Derval Green broke the stand with Duminy's wicket after 31 off 35 off the last ball of the 16th over. On the first ball of the next, Nurse was dismissed by a slower one from Jade Dernbach, leaving the side 119 for 7. The lower order had no answer to Zahir's googlies and as a result, Tridents could muster only 23 from the last four overs.
Holder, Walsh peg Tridents back
Gayle teed off with a couple of sixes off Nurse in the second over of the chase, the first of which took him to 13,000 T20 runs. At the other end, Glenn Phillips got stuck in to Josh Lalor and took Tallawahs to 48 in just 5.1 overs. But Holder pegged them by getting rid of the duo in the same over. But it wasn't until Hayden Walsh dismissed Worker and Dwayne Smith off successive balls that Tridents had any real hope of victory.
Walton, Glen lead the way
Javelle Glen then joined Walton and hit Sandeep Lamichhane for two sixes to relieve some pressure. In the next over, Walton too smashed Walsh over long-on for a six. Lamichhane created a stumping chance against Walton in the 13th over but Boucher failed to collect the ball. To add insult to the injury, Walton and Glen belted a six each in the bowler's next three balls. The two brought down the equation to 28 needed from 44 balls before Glen fell to Lamichhane while attempting another six.
Tridents though didn't help their cause with fielding lapses. With 18 required from 23 balls, substitute fielder Raymon Reifer put down Green off Walsh. For the second time in the match, Walton hit the next ball after a reprieve for six and eventually saw his side home with yet another six, off Carter.
