CPL 2023: Motie (4-29) delivers huge win for Amazon Warriors

Guyana Amazon Warriors got their first win of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comfortable 65-run victory against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first, but the decision backfired as the Amazon Warriors made light of regular wickets falling to post an exceptional 197-7.

In reply, the Patriots struggled to get close to the Warriors’ total. Evin Lewis played a quickfire captain’s knock, but once he fell no one else in the Patriots order was able to have a similar effect on the game.

The Amazon Warriors innings suffered an early blow when Sheldon Cottrell removed Chandrapaul Hemraj in the first over for a duck.

Although the Patriots were to lose two further wickets in the Powerplay, Saim Ayub falling to Dominic Drakes and Azam Khan to Oshane Thomas, they kept the run rate brisk reaching 59-3 at the end of the initial six overs.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were to build on that momentum taking the score to 101-3 at the halfway stage of the innings and Hope leading the way, racing to his half-century from 26 balls.

However, the partnership was eventually broken by Izharulhaq Naveed – the wrist spinner bowling the destructive Hope for 54. That wicket was quickly followed up by the dismissal of Hetmyer for 26, the left-hander holing out to the deep point boundary.

Those wickets briefly took the momentum out of the innings, but Keemo Paul (25 off 18) and Romario Shepherd (25* off 10) added quick runs at the back end to help the Warriors post an imposing total of 197-7.

The Patriots were never really in the game in their reply as scoreboard pressure told.

Andre Fletcher and Joshua Da Silva fell inside the Powerplay to leave the Patriots 37-2 at the end of six overs.

Patriots captain Evin Lewis played a fine counter attacking innings of 48 from 24 balls to bring the required run rate down to a more manageable total but that scenario did not last long.

Lewis and Sherfane Rutherford fell six balls apart to leave the Patriots 88-4 at the halfway stage.

Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals with Gudakesh Motie the star with the ball as he finished with career-best figures in a spell that included the wicket of Ambati Rayudu.

The left arm spinner took 4-29 to leave the Amazon Warriors on the cusp of victory and the final rites were indeed read when Naveed was caught on the boundary by Hetmyer. (CPL)