Hetmyer, Gurbaz make it two in two for Warriors

Fans were treated to a spectacle at Warner Park in Basseterre as Guyana Amazon Warriors scored the second-highest total in CPL history of 266 for 7 against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Shimron Hetmyer (91 off 39 balls) and Rahmullah Gurbaz's (69 off 37 balls) were the stars of the show, and Keemo Paul added the finishing touches with a quickfire cameo of 34 from 12 deliveries for the Warriors. Andre Fletcher's spectacular 81 and a quickfire 34 from Sherfane Rutherford gave the Patriots hope but regular wickets meant that they were bowled out for 226 in reply, conceding a 40-run defeat.

Having elected to bat, the Warriors promoted Kevin Sinclair to the top of the order who scored four boundaries off Kyle Mayers before he holed out to extra cover. Gurbaz started relatively slowly compared to Sinclair but clinched the odd-boundary. A flurry of fours in the sixth over got the Warriors to 53 in the PowerPlay. Hope was dismissed immediately after the PowerPlay which united Hetmyer and Gurbaz in the middle.

Once the two came together there was no respite for any bowler. They dealt majorly in sixes throughout the innings. Gurbaz smashed Ryan John for two sixes - one of them being a 100 metre maximum and brought up his fifty in the process. Odean Smith was dispatched for three sixes in a massive 21-run over by the two. Hetmyer then smashed Mayers and Mohammad Mohsin for maximums. He scored his half-century with a single down the ground.

An eventful 14th over saw Hetmyer smash two sixes before Anrich Nortje cleaned up Gurbaz. Keemo Paul took Mohsin to the cleaners in a 25-run over consisting of three sixes and a four. Paul was run-out as the batters tried to sneak a single off John. Hetmyer carved into Odean for four monstrous sixes next. He eventually holed out to mid-on on the last ball off a mammoth 28-run 19th over. Raymon Reifer put the icing on the cake with two maximums in the last over to help Warriors set a mammoth target.

The Patriots lost Evin Lewis in the first over. Although Mayers hit a couple of maximums, Patriots were watchful early on until Fletcher broke the shackles in the fifth over. Fletcher smashed Sinclair for four sixes and two fours in a massive 34-run over which consisted of two no-balls. Paul dismissed Mayers immediately after, but Rutherford went on the offensive against the bowler with three fours and a six. The Patriots had raced away to 94 for 2 in the PowerPlay.

The batters scored three more sixes in Imran Tahir's first over, going down the ground and mid-wicket. Fletcher brought up his 50 in 18 balls with a six off Paul. The dangerous Rutherford holed out to long-on after a quickfire 34. With the asking rate below 12 and the Patriots going strong, Tahir bowled a double-wicket maiden, prizing Josh Clarkson and Odean.

Fletcher kept the momentum going with a four and a six off Gudakesh Motie. However, the batter was caught down the ground off Motie as the Patriots had slipped to 174 for 6. Tahir scalped John for two but Mohsin took apart the legspinner with two sixes and a four. Mohsin fell in the next over, further denting the Patriots hopes. Mikyle Louis smashed Pretorius for two fours and a six before he was caught at extra cover, as the Warriors sealed the win.

Brief Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 266/7 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 91, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 69; Veerasammy Permaul 1-14) beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 226 all-out in 18 overs (Andre Fletcher 81, Sherfane Rutherford 34; Gudakesh Motie 3-34) by 40 runs