AI Simulation, TKR vs ABF | Sunil Narine spell shocks Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in knockout game

Pitch and weather

The surface at the Providence Stadium was once again on the drier side and offered some grip and turn for the spinners. However, the conditions got slightly easier for the batters with a bit of dew in the evening.

The weather in Guyana was nice and breezy at a temperature of 28 degrees Celsius, and there was no threat of rain at the venue. 

Toss

Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bat first

Lineups

Trinbago Knight Riders: Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Darren Bravo, Keacy Carty, Nicholas Pooran (c/wk), Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Usman Tariq, Mohammad Amir.

Antigua & Barbuda Falcons: Amir Jangoo (wk), Andries Gous, Karima Gore, Kevin Wickham, Shakib Al Hasan, Imad Wasim (c), Fabian Allen, Shamar Springer, Usama Mir, Jayden Seales, Salman Irshad.

Match Report

The Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bat first on a slow and low surface, and while opening batters Colin Munro and Alex Hales started with a bit of a cautious approach at the start, but managed to get some boundaries towards the end of the powerplay with the score reading 48/0. However, as soon as the partnership started to look good, Usama Mir dismissed the dangerous Colin Munro in the seventh over with a beautiful googly which crashed into middle and off stump. Despite the minor blip, Hales and Trinbago skipper Nicholas Pooran formed a decent partnership in the middle, with Pooran playing the aggressor and Hales rotating the strike with some elegant strokeplay. The Trinbago franchise score was moving at a brisk rate until the 62-run stand was broken in the 12th over by Shakib al Hasan, who dismissed a dangerous-looking Pooran on a score of 38 off 24 deliveries. Straight after the captain's dismissal, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons came back in the game as Hales was dismissed by Mir in the next over on 47 off 30 deliveries, and Darren Bravo was dismissed cheaply by Falcons’ skipper Imad Wasim in the 14th. The last couple of overs saw a sudden slump in the scoring rate as the Knight Riders, who were in a comfortable position at 110/2 after 12 overs, were now struggling at 117/4 with six overs to go. While it seemed like the Falcons had made a great comeback, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russel got the scoring rate back on track with a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket. Though Pollard was dismissed in the 18th over by Jayden Seales on 29, and Russell was dismissed in the space of two deliveries, the damage was done as Knight Riders managed to score 59 runs off the last six overs to take the score to 176/6. 

Though the target looked challenging on a sluggish-looking track in Guyana, Andries Gous and Amir Jangoo negated the threat of the new ball and ended the first six overs on a decent score of 44/0. However, as soon as the 48-run stand started to look threatening, Sunil Narine came to the rescue and dismissed Jangoo on 25 in the seventh over. Though the wicket for the Knight Riders came at a crucial time, Gous was joined by Shakib at the crease, and the two started to get the Antigua franchise back in the game. The two batters put on 45 runs for the second wicket until Gous was dismissed after a well-made 42 off 31 deliveries by Andre Russell in the 11th over. Trouble started brewing for the Falcons as Shakib was dismissed by Akeal Hosein in the very next over for 33 off 24 deliveries. With two new batters at the crease, the game was in the balance with the score reading 103/3 after 13 overs. Though the two wickets put the falcons in a bit of trouble, Wasim and Fabian Allen made sure that they kept the chase alive with a crucial 40-run partnership and took the score to 145/3 at the end of 16 overs, needing 32 off the last 24 balls. Unfortunately, the Antigua franchise got another shocker as Narine dismissed both set batters in the 17th to get the Knight Riders back in the game. Though the equation was still achievable, Russel and Mohammad Amir kept their nerves at the death and also managed to get three more scalps in the process. While Russel dismissed Karima Gore in the next over, Amir  took a couple in the 19th. With only 19 runs coming off the last four, the Falcons were restricted to 162/8 and lost the game by 14 runs. 

Player of the match

Sunil Narine was awarded the player of the match for his incredible spell of 3/27 from his full quota of four overs.

Scorecard