Imran Tahir five-fer secures top spot for Guyana

After defeating Saint Lucia Kings in a low-scoring game in Guyana on Wednesday (September 9), the Guyana Amazon Warriors resumed their winning ways and secured their position at the top of the points table. Led by skipper Imran Tahir’s five-wicket haul, the Warriors kept the opposition down to just 119 before chasing the total down with four wickets to spare.

Even though he lost his opening partner Tim Seifert early, Kamil Pooran got the Kings off to a great start by choosing to bat first. In the Powerplay, he hit five fours and two sixes, helping John Campbell get the Kings to 51 for 1 after six innings.

After that, the match turned around, and the Kings lost seven wickets for just 19 runs. After the Powerplay, Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck out Campbell, ending the 40-run partnership. After that, Tahir bowled Pooran and Chase LBW in two overs, and Mehidy bowled Kemol Savory and Charith Asalanka out in the eleventh over. Tahir bowled McKenny Clarke and Matthew Forde in the subsequent over, bringing the situation even worse. Finally, Tahir came back in the 14th and caught Joshua Bishop LBW to earn his fifth wicket.

The Kings' innings remained respectable thanks to Obus Pienaar's 35 runs. He shared a 38-run last-wicket stand with Maheesh Theekshana before holing out in the 19th over. Fittingly, it was Tahir taking the catch as the Kings were bundled out for 119.

The Warriors' response was that their pursuit was far from easy. They only hit two boundaries as the Powerplay came to an end, but they managed to cling to 23 for 1. Glenn Phillips and Shai Hope played a slow 58-ball, 53-run partnership after losing Mavendra Dindyal. The Kings had a chance to come back after the Warriors lost three wickets in three overs, but Quentin Samspon shut them down with five sixes in his unbeaten 11-ball 37 to win for his team.