Barbados Royals kept their unbeaten run intact as they made it six wins from six in Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) following victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders.
The Royals won the toss and opted to field first and took full advantage of that decision with their spinners Rahkeem Cornwall and Mujeeb Ur Rahman causing havoc upfront.
Four wickets fell in the first seven overs and the Knight Riders struggled to get back into the game.
Nicholas Pooran put up a valiant fight with a battling half-century, but the 132 they posted was short of a competitive total.
If there were any lingering doubts in the Royals’ minds about chasing the total in front of a raucous Queen’s Park Oval, Kyle Mayers didn’t read the script. He hit a blistering 79 to stun the home crowd and lead the Royals to a comfortable win.
The Queen’s Park Oval was silenced inside the Powerplay as the Royals took out the Knight Riders top order.
Cornwall and the debuting Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed Tion Webster, Colin Munro and Tim Seifert in quick succession to leave Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard with a major rescue job on their hands.
When Pollard fell to Ur Rahman straight after the PowerPlay all looked lost for the Knight Riders, but Pooran and Sunil Narine put together a fine rebuilding partnership to leave the home team well set at 100-4 with five overs to go.
However, when Obed McCoy bowled Pooran for a well-constructed 52 off 44 balls that signalled the end of the Knight Riders fight back. The remaining batters stuttered their way to a total of 132 that was not enough against the irresistible Barbados Royals.
If the Knight Riders were going to have a chance then a lot depended on taking wickets in the Powerplay, Daryn Dupavillon provided the early joy clean bowling Cornwall for one.
But that was to be as good as it got as the Hero CPL leading run scorer, Kyle Mayers, hit a stunning 79 from 35 balls to guide the Royals to the edge of victory.
Corbin Bosch and Quinton De Kock saw out the remaining runs with minimum fuss to ensure the Royals remain unbeaten. (CPL)
