Chris Gayle’s rapid 65-ball 86 was in vain as 21-year-old Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 79 secured a six-wicket victory for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
An enthralling contest in Providence between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots was dominated by two players – the experienced Gayle and a youthful Hetmyer.
Gayle was the star performer for the Patriots, hitting seven fours and five sixes, but received no support from his fellow teammates as they struggled to 146-5 in their 20 overs.
He managed to guide his side to the 134-run mark before Imran Tahir struck with his only wicket of the match. Tom Cooper and Ben Cutting were the Patriots’ next best scorers with 15 runs apiece, but they both lost their wickets before Gayle and failed to make a magnificent contribution.
It took the Warriors just 16-and-a-half overs to chase down the target, thanks to a brilliant 45-ball 79 from Hetmyer, who came in with his side two wickets down and just nine runs on the board.
The youngster hit nine fours and four sixes and was aided by cameos from Shoaib Malik (14), Jason Mohammed (16) and an undefeated 25 from Chris Green.
Nepalese wonderkid Sandeep Lamichhane bowled superbly in an effort to keep his side in the match, returning figures of 4-0-12-2 at just three runs to the over (including 13 dot balls), but the Warriors took the rest of the Patriot bowlers to task on the way to recording a comfortable six-wicket victory.
Photo: Randy Brooks – CPL T20/Getty Images
