Two Matches, Two Analysis, One Post - CPL 2020

Yesterday, at first match, St. Lucia Zouks and St. Kittis and Nevis Patriots met each other at Brian Lara Cricket Stadium, Tarouba. Before the match had begun, during pitch report, Danny Morrison had mentioned that, "the wicket is a good for batting and obviously scores around 160-170 are expected". The pitch report turned out to be precise in its research. 

Match 1 - STZ vs SKNP

St. Lucia Zouks at one end, had played 2 games with winning one and losing one, whereas for St. Kittis and Nevis Patriots, they are yet to open an account. Rayad Emrit, the Captain of SKNP, had won the toss and decided to bowl first, as chasing seemed to be a winning formula for each and every team. But, this match showed the issue of St. Kittis and Nevis, more clearly. 

Zouks had made a perfect start. They scored 64 runs, at the end of 6 overs. Andre Fletcher and Mark Deyal, ensured their start gives a driving force, with their attacking shots, particularly towards the leg side boundary. Mark Deyal made 30(17) while Andre Fletcher scored 46(32). Both, doing the necessary damage at the middle. SKNP, fought back so hard, clipping some wickets in the middle, especially the dot ball percentage, shown by Rayad Emrit were fabulous. His spell of 1/14 in his 4 overs, explains the only impact done by him. On the other hand, eventhough Zouks lost wickets in middle, the added advantage of Mohammed Nabi, with his finishing abilities, ensured them to a score of 172/6, at the end of 20 overs. Nabi's onslaught against Sohail Tanvir, particularly his pull shot sixes over the on side, were a combination of both class and experience. 

SKNP came into bat. Chris Lynn and Evin Lewis, made a decent start. This is in fact a calculative start, to chase the target 173. During 3rd over, Nabi came into bowl. A backward square leg along with a silly mid wicket were in place. Lynn tried hitting him, got a lucky boundary, missed 3 deliveries, and finally he was caught at Backward Square Leg. In the alternative over, Joshua Da silva's struggle continued with dismissing him for 1(4). Lewis scored well, but couldn't stand too long. SKNP, were in a rough patch, losing more wickets in the middle except Lendl Simmons, who played an important hand at one end. Roston Chase's spin bowling against the left handers, were improving day by day. There were inching towards the target, but the issue they had is " the lack of finishers ". Zouks had a solid finisher in the form of Nabi, whereas SKNP didn't possess one. So, the playing 11s along with its team combination is must. In the end, Zouks won the game by 10 runs. Mohammad Nabi was awarded the Man of the Match.

Match 2 - JT vs GAW

Second match was between Jamaica Tallawahs and Guyana Amazon Warriors. Both were having won one game while losing the other game. During Game 1, I appreciated the pitch report whereas on this game, there isn't any sort of relation between Pitch Report and the actual match occurred. A low scoring encounter. Jamaica Tallawahs had won the toss and decided to field first, in a sunny game. JT scored just 118 runs at the end of 20 overs. They had a good powerplay session but ultimately lost their wickets, after the expansion of the field and also the effectiveness of spin bowling. The combined spin duo of Mujeeb and Lamichhane, scalped 5 wickets for just 26 runs, at their quota of 8 overs. The tightened field setting for each and every batsman, especially for Ross Taylor seemed stressful. The created stress, and added pressure, made each and every batsmen to go for that wrong shot. 

The result that, Guyana Amazon Warriors had chased 118 comes out, it becomes an usual thing. Whereas if Guyana Amazon Warriors, had defended 118, meaning the unusual existence. But, the thing in the second one, had occurred. Right from the start, GAW were threatening JT. A slip fielder were kept and both Chris Green and Ashmead Nedd, picked wickets, with other bowlers bowling at tighter lines. They didn't provide any shorter deliveries or loose lengths, clearly closing the gaps and bowled with lower pace. Other than Russell, none had counter attacked and many were playing without any risks. Russell found his form back, but the match is a pure haunting moments for Jamaica Tallawahs. Also, this tournament is designed in a fashion of being a low scoring matches, with still no 200+ scores have been posted on. Both teams lost wickets quickly, but the fielding and the amount of runs added during Powerplay saved Guyana from a low scoring thriller.