Trinbago Knight Riders Women etched their name in cricket history as they defeated Barbados in the inaugural Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League 2022 at Warner Park, St. Kitts on Sunday. West Indian veterans Deandra Dottin and Anisa Mohammed were the stars that kept a valiant Hayley Matthews at bay in the low scoring thriller.
TKR-W sent in to bat
In a rematch of the SKYEXCH 6ixty finals, Barbados Royals won the toss and inserted the Knight Riders to bat. TKR’s captain and all-rounder Dottin took centre stage again as she anchored the innings with a solid 59 off 62 balls as the team lost wickets at regular intervals. She smashed 4 fours and 2 sixes scoring the only half-century of the tournament, while South African Suné Luus was the only other batter to get into double figures contributing 12 off 16 balls. TKR posted an even 100 runs for 7 wickets at the end of their 20 overs. Skipper Matthews did the major damage for the Royals as she registered figures of 3 wickets for 22 runs including the big one of Dottin.
The chase
The Royals started positively but some excellent glovework by Natasha McClean accounted for the first three wickets. First, she took two sharp catches to dismiss Aaliyah Alleyne and Britney Cooper cheaply, and then stumped the dangerous Chloe Tryon off Mohammed to keep the Knight Riders in the hunt. Matthews played the same role for her team that Dottin did, as wickets fell regularly for the Royals as well. Sheneta Grimmond, Hayley Jensen and Luus all took 2 wickets apiece as the fielders ably supported them by taking the catching opportunities and preventing the boundaries. However, it was Anisa that had the final say as the game began go down to the wire after Matthews increased the tempo in the ending overs. With the Royals needing 13 runs from 12 balls, Matthews attempted to attack her West Indian counterpart but instead holed out to Jannillea Glasgow in the deep for 46. Royals now needed 11 from 9. Mandy Mangru was the last batter to the crease but could not push the team over the line as she was bowled by Anisa for a first ball duck, handing TKR a 10-run victory and the champion’s trophy with 8 balls to spare.
TKR-W 100/7 (20 overs)
Deandra Dottin 59 (62)
Suné Luus 12 (16)
Hayley Matthews 3/22 (4 overs)
Qiana Joseph 1/14 (4 overs)
BARBADOS ROYALS 90 all out (20 overs)
Hayley Matthews 46 (49)
Chinelle Henry 7 (10)
Anisa Mohammed 3/16 (3.4 overs)
Suné Luus 2/17 (4 overs)
Result: TKR-W won by 10 runs
