Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Pollard excelled with both the bat and ball
The people of Barbados were singing and dancing long into the night as West Indies all-rounder and Barbados Tridents captain Kieron Pollard started the franchise’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign with a bang, as they registered a 17-run win over the St Lucia Zouks.
Many Barbadians had complained, and some even took to the streets to protest, over Pollard’s appointment as captain, but he turned their jeers into cheers as he smashed an unbeaten 61 to give his side the win.
Pollard was also well supported by Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who hammered 78 runs.
It seemed as if Pollard had it all going for him as he also won the toss of the inaugural edition of the tournament and chose to bat first.
However, that decision looked to be the wrong one early on into Barbados’ innings as South African all-rounder Albie Morkel drew first blood for St Lucia as he removed opener Dwayne Smith first ball.
Things went from bad to worse for the Tridents as four of their top order batsmen were back in the pavilion with only 48 runs on the board.
But, Malik and Pollard’s 88-run partnership at a run rate of 8.65 helped bring the Tridents back into contention as they went on to score 169 runs off their 20 overs.
Pollard remained undefeated on 61 off 46 balls, which included four boundaries and three sixes, while Malik scored 78 off 51 deliveries, which included eight boundaries and one maximum.
St Lucia captain Darren Sammy was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Morkel and Tino Best chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing a difficult target of 170 to win, the Zouks got off to a blazing start as openers Tamim Iqbal and Andre Fletcher brought up their 50-run partnership in just five overs.
However, just after crossing the 50-run mark, the Tridents struck as Ashley Nurse removed Iqbal for 22.
Iqbal’s wicket triggered the collapse of the Zouks’ batting line-up as they fell one after another.
Fletcher was one of the only batsmen to put up any resistance as he scored a brilliant 57 off 41 balls, which included four boundaries and four sixes.
With the Zouks looking down and out after losing their entire middle order, Sammy produced a last minute spark, scoring 34 runs off 16 deliveries, which included four boundaries and two maximums.
But, in the end, it was just too little to late for the Zouks as they were bowled out for 152, leaving them 17 runs short of their target.
Pollard was the best of the best when it came to the Tridents bowling attack as he claimed three victims, while Nurse, Jason Holder and Rayad Emrit all picked up two wickets apiece and Malik chipped in with a wicket as well.