All-round Powell sinks Guyana

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Rovman Powell starred with both bat and ball as Jamaica Tallawahs cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket victory against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Saturday.

Set a target of 174, Tallawahs’ chase was powered by Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 60 and an attacking 34-ball 55 not out from Powell as they reached the target in 18.1 overs.

After electing to bowl, Oshane Thomas gave Tallawahs an early breakthrough when opener Luke Ronchi (6) was caught by Powell for his first of three catches of the night.

Cameron Delport was then joined by Shimron Hetmyer and together they repaired the early damage. They took the score to 60 runs before Samuel Badree broke the stand thanks to a brilliant one-handed catch from Powell near the boundary to send back Delport on 34.

Jason Mohammed then upped the ante with an aggressive half-century, hitting five fours and three sixes in his 33-ball 54. Hetmyer consumed 41 deliveries for 48 runs and Chadwick Walton’s cameo of 25 pushed Guyana to a challenging 173-6 in 20 overs. Powell claimed 2-21.

Openers Glenn Phillips and Johnson Charles built a solid foundation for Tallawahs with a 40-run stand. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir then removed Phillips (27) and Charles (25) in consecutive overs.

But Taylor and Powell built an unbeaten 114-run stand for the third wicket to ensure victory for Tallawahs.