Cricket Highlights, 27 September: CPL 2022 (Qualifier 1) – Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Royals

Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Royals (Qualifier 1) – Highlights

An all-round performance by Rahkeem Cornwall led Barbados Royals to a massive 87-run victory over Guyana Amazon Warriors in the first qualifier match of the CPL 2022 playoffs at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Along with that, they have confirmed the final as the first team of the tournament.

Shakib Al Hasan’s transformed Guyana Amazon Warriors won four consecutive matches to book a spot in the playoffs. However, the Bangladeshi all-rounder failed in the first qualifier. The team did not win as well on this day.

When Shakib joined the team, the team was in doubt of being eliminated from the first phase. However, after joining the world’s best all-rounder, they won four matches in a row. Shakib was successful with the ball in the first two matches but could not score any runs with the bat. Shakib, who started the season by hitting two consecutive golden ducks, shone with the bat as well as the ball in the last two matches. He was also adjudged as player of the match in two consecutive matches after performing well with the bat.

In the first qualifier in the playoffs, Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Shimron Hetmyer won the toss and he decided to field first. However, his decision soon proved to be wrong. Barbados Royals collected a huge collection of 195 runs in 20 overs on the scoreboard due to the rampage of the big-bodied Rahkeem Cornwall.

In reply, Guyana Amazon Warriors lost by a huge margin of 87 runs. Shakib took the wicket of Cornwall conceding 22 runs in 3 overs with the ball in hand but did not perform well with the bat. He got out for just 1 run off 2 balls.

Cornwall played a stormy inning of 91 runs off 54 balls at the Providence Stadium. There were 2 fours and 11 sixes in that innings. It is the joint second highest sixes record in an innings of CPL history. However, it was Shakib who stopped the Cornwall storm. On the brink of a century, he was dismissed by Shakib.

Apart from Cornwall, Azam Khan has batted well for Barbados Royals. Azam Khan made a pair of 90 runs in just 8.3 overs with Cornwall. The Pakistani star played an innings of 52 runs from 35 balls hitting 3 fours and 4 sixes before getting out.

Going into bat with a target of 196 runs, Guyana Amazon Warriors lost the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz early on. After that, they started losing wickets at regular intervals. As a result, Guyana Amazon Warriors could not return to the match. In the fourth over of the innings, Shakib managed to stay into the wicket for a total of three balls. Shakib, who came down to bat at four, returned with 1 run via Ramon Simmonds with an lbw.

It was skipper Shimron Hetmyer who scored a few runs for Guyana Amazon Warriors. He scored 37 runs off 29 balls. Simmonds took the highest number of 3 wickets at the cost of 17 runs against the Barbados Royals. Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2 wickets for 21 runs.

However, Rahkeem Cornwall, the hero of the match, aced every one. This all-rounder of Barbados Royals took 2 wickets with just 10 runs. He was also selected as player of the match for his excellent performance with bat and ball.

Despite the loss, the chances of the Guyana Amazon Warriors reaching the finals are not over. Guyana Amazon Warriors will advance to the final if they win the second qualifier against Jamaica Tallawahs, who won the eliminator game on Wednesday. The match will be held early on Thursday (September 29).

Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Royals Scoreboard

Barbados Royals – 195/5 (20.0)

Guyana Amazon Warriors – 108/10 (17.4)

Result – Barbados Royals won by 87 runs

Player of the match – Rahkeem Cornwall

Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Royals Playing XIs