By Avenash Ramzan
After an innings-changing knock of 38 off 22 balls against the St. Lucia Zouks on Thursday evening, Guyana Amazon Warriors all-rounder Keemo Paul said he is happy to contribute to the team’s success.
Paul’s innings took the Warriors to 155-9 after they were in a quandary at 98-6 at Providence.
Though he did not have the best night with the ball, conceding 39 off his four overs, his batting ensured the Warriors had enough to eke out a 13-run win.
Using the ‘long handle’ to good effect, Paul, Cricket West Indies T20 Player-of-the-Year, hammered three sixes and three fours to swing the momentum in Warriors favour after Zouks were sensing an early night.
“It was good to contribute to the team for the first game,” Paul told reporters after the contest. “The wicket was tough to start; as you can see I batted a few dot balls, but one I progressed it felt much, much better.”
Paul, who was part of the West Indies Test squad against India recently, but did not play a game due to an ankle injury, said he did some work on his batting with West Indies Assistant Coach, Rayon Griffith.
“I’ve just been trying to get a stable base and try to hit through the line of the ball and it looks to be working for me,” the 21-year-old, who played for IPL side Delhi Capitals this season, pointed out.
While Paul starred with the bat, Pakistan spinner Shadab Khan was outstanding with the ball, claiming 3-16 from four overs of wizardry to stifle the Zouks middle order.
“Shadab is a star,” is how Paul described the former Trinbago Knight Riders leggie.
“He changed the game for us and that was fantastic. He spun some webs around the batsmen and it was great for us,” Paul added.
Warriors next game is against St. Kitts Patriots on Saturday from 20:00h at Providence.
