PORT OF SPAIN – Captain Kieron Pollard belted an astonishing half-century as Trinbago Knight Riders pulled off an exhilarating run chase to stun reigning champions Barbados Tridents by two wickets in a last-over thriller yesterday.
Entering the contest in the 13th over with the unbeaten TKR floundering on 62 for five in pursuit of 149 for victory, Pollard smashed 72 off just 28 balls to haul his side back into contention at Queen’s Park Oval.
He counted two fours and nine giant sixes in a jaw-dropping display of power-hitting to single-handedly take the game away from Tridents, as TKR gathered 70 runs from the last five overs.
When Pollard was run out off the second ball of the final over, TKR still needed eight runs but the nerveless Khary Pierre (ten not out) sliced the fourth delivery – a high full toss from left-arm seamer Raymon Reifer – over point for six before thrashing the next ball to the backward point boundary for four to spark celebrations in the hosts’ camp.
The victory extended TKR’s winning streak to six on the trot and put them on 12 points at the top of the six-team standings, all but securing a spot in the semi-finals.
In contrast, the defeat for the Tridents was their fourth in six outings and even though they remain third on four points, they face the possibility of missing out on the final four.
Summarised scores:
Tridents 148 for seven off 20 overs (Johnson Charles 47, Kyle Mayers 42; Sikandar Raza 2-11, Jayden Seales 2-21). TKR 149 for eight off 19.5 overs (Kieron Pollard 72, Lendl Simmons 32; Jason Holder 2-27). TKR won by two wickets.
