Imran Tahir's Five-for and Samspon's Blitz Secure Top Spot for Warriors
Guyana Amazon Warriors did it the hard way, but they did it. On a sticky Guyana night, with runs at a premium and nerves fraying, Imran Tahir ripped through Saint Lucia Kings, Quentin Samspon ripped the tension apart, and the Warriors walked away with a scrappy, vital win that locks them in at the top of the table.
Tahir tears through Kings
Saint Lucia Kings chose to bat and, for a brief spell, looked like they had read the surface perfectly. Kamil Pooran came out swinging. Tim Seifert fell early, but Pooran refused to blink, carving five fours and two sixes in the Powerplay. With John Campbell bedding in at the other end, the Kings reached 51 for 1 after six overs and looked set for something substantial.
Then the match turned on its head.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz broke the stand straight after the Powerplay, removing Campbell and snapping a 40-run partnership. That opened the door. Tahir kicked it off its hinges.
The Warriors captain trapped Pooran lbw, then nailed Roston Chase in similar fashion in the space of two overs. The Kings, cruising at 51 for 1, suddenly stared at a scoreboard that refused to move.
Mehidy tightened the noose in the 11th over, striking twice to remove Kemol Savory and Charith Asalanka. Panic set in. Footwork vanished. Stumps and pads became prime targets.
Tahir sensed it. He stormed back, bowling McKenny Clarke and Matthew Forde in the next over, his celebrations as wild as the collapse unfolding in front of him. By the 14th, he had his fifth, trapping Joshua Bishop lbw to complete a ruthless spell and leave the Kings in tatters.
From 51 for 1, they had lost seven wickets for just 19 runs.
Only Obus Pienaar stood firm. His 35 was not pretty, but it was priceless in the circumstances. He farmed the strike, dragged the innings out, and found an ally in Maheesh Theekshana. Together they stitched a 38-run last-wicket stand that dragged the total to 119 and at least gave the bowlers something to work with.
Pienaar finally holed out in the 19th over. Fittingly, it was Tahir who settled under the catch, closing the innings and his own night’s work with the ball as the Kings folded for 119.
A chase that never settled
A target of 120 should have been a stroll. It wasn’t.
The Warriors’ reply started in treacle. The ball held in the pitch, the Kings’ attack hit their lengths, and boundaries dried up almost completely. At the end of the Powerplay, Guyana Amazon Warriors limped to 23 for 1 with only two fours to show for it.
When Mavendra Dindyal departed, the innings needed calm hands. Glenn Phillips and Shai Hope tried to provide exactly that. They dug in, absorbed pressure and, at times, absorbed the crowd’s impatience too. Their stand – 53 runs from 58 balls – was deliberate, almost stubborn.
It kept the chase alive, but it never killed the contest.
The Kings sensed that. As soon as the partnership broke, they pounced. Three wickets in three overs cracked the game open again and, for the first time since Tahir’s early burst, Saint Lucia could taste a comeback. Every dot ball drew roars. Every mistimed stroke felt heavier than the last.
Then Samspon walked in and tore up the script.
With the game tightening and the required rate inching upwards, he chose violence. Eleven balls, five of them launched for six. Length balls disappeared over the ropes, the fielders became spectators, and the Kings’ hope evaporated in a blur of clean hitting.
What had threatened to become a nervy stumble turned into a statement finish. Samspon’s unbeaten 37 from just 11 deliveries slammed the door shut and dragged the Warriors over the line with four wickets to spare.
On a night when their captain owned the ball and their finisher owned the moment, Guyana Amazon Warriors didn’t just win a low-scoring scrap. They underlined why they sit on top of the table – and why, when the pressure spikes later in the tournament, they will fancy themselves to hold their nerve again.
