By Kurtis Hinds
A brilliant all-round performance from Gudakesh Motie powered Barbados Tridents into the playoffs of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League on Saturday night.
Playing at Kensington Oval, the hosts confirmed their spot with a game to spare, thanks to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Jamaica Kingsmen, which was completed off the last ball of the game.
After being sent into bat, the Kingsmen made a solid start, as they progressed to 50 for one at the end of the powerplay.
The Tridents fought back well with the ball in the middle overs; however, Jamaica slipped to 112 for six midway through the 16th over.
By then Motie had dismissed top scorer Maaz Sadaqat for 47 off 34 balls and Usman Khan for 18, on the way to impressive bowling figures of two wickets for seven runs, from his three overs.
Pacer Jakeem Pollard continued his good run, taking three for 38, while Daniel Sams grabbed 2 for 41, as Jamaica were restricted to 150 for nine.
In reply the Tridents’ batting inconsistency continued, as they slipped to 36 for three at the end of the powerplay, as Zachary Carter was dismissed for three, Brandon King 18 and Rivaldo Clarke one.
Quinton de Kock was the next man out for 14, and when Sherfane Rutherford was run out for five, the Tridents were in serious trouble at 76 for five in the 14th over.
Shadrack Descarte held the innings together with a fluent 56 from 42 deliveries, including six fours and two sixes, but his dismissal at 107 for six at the start of the 17th over still left the Tridents in an awkward position.
Daniel Sams added five, and skipper Chris Green 17 from 12 balls, but his dismissal off the fifth ball of the penultimate over left the Tridents needing 17 runs from the final over to secure an unlikely but crucial win.
By then, Motie was already at the crease and unbeaten on six.
The Kingsmen handed the responsibility of bowling the last over to Odean Smith, with Motie hammering the first ball for four. A rattled Smith then bowled consecutive wides before Motie smashed the second legal ball over long off for six.
A leg bye off the third ball and two runs from A.M Ghazanfar, followed by a single off the penultimate ball of the match by the same batsman, levelled the scores and left the Tridents needing a run off the final ball to seal the win.
With the crowd at Kensington Oval on its feet and chanting his name prior to the delivery, Motie pulled a short ball over midwicket to clinch a memorable win, as he finished unbeaten on 17 from eight balls.
Tridents skipper Chris Green was relieved to complete the victory, as Barbados booked a place in the playoffs, ahead of Sunday’s game against Guyana Amazon Warriors.
“We’ve obviously got a lot of depth all the way down to Motie, and look, what a game he had! The way he stepped up with the bat and finished the game off, I’m immensely proud. To get us over the line and qualify was an amazing effort from a key player to this side.”
The post Motie stars as Tridents book playoff spot appeared first on Barbados Today.
