A dramatic final-ball victory saw the Barbados Tridents clinch their place in the playoffs after defeating the Jamaica Kingsmen in a tense encounter at the Kensington Oval. Chasing a target of 151 runs, the home side triumphed by two wickets on the very last delivery of the match. Despite suffering a defeat, the Kingsmen also celebrated passage to the tournament’s next stage, advancing over the Saint Lucia Kings thanks to a superior net run-rate.
Descarte and Motie Steer Tense Chase
The Tridents faced early hurdles in their pursuit of 151, collapsing to 36/3 during the initial Powerplay. Zachary Carter was dismissed early, Brandon King fell shortly after a brief delay for rain, and Rivaldo Clarke was run out to leave the hosts reeling. Sadrack Descarte joined Quinton de Kock to rebuild the innings, but the South African veteran departed for 14. Momentum took another hit when Sherfane Rutherford was run out at the non-striker’s end, after bowler Keemo Paul deflected a straight drive onto the stumps. Struggling at 76/5, Descarte launched a counter-attack, smashing two maximums off Vitel Lawes to reach a vital half-century.
When Andre Russell dismissed Descarte for 56 at the beginning of the 17th over, the Kingsmen appeared to have the match under control. However, a controversial high full toss from Paul was deemed a no-ball, drawing a furious reaction from captain Rovman Powell. Chris Green contributed a swift 17 before departing in the 19th over, leaving the Tridents needing 17 runs from the final six balls. Facing bowler Odean Smith, Gudakesh Motie swung the momentum back by hitting a boundary and a six, aided by a pair of wides. With only one run required from the ultimate delivery, the left-hander safely completed the winning run to finish unbeaten on 17.
Kingsmen Innings Slowed by Spin
Earlier, the Kingsmen recovered from the early loss of Kirk McKenzie to post 50 runs during their Powerplay, driven by Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Khan. Sadaqat took the attack to Jakeem Pollard, hitting him for two fours and a six to put the visitors in a strong position. However, the Tridents’ spin attack choked the scoring rate, as Motie dismissed both Usman and Sadaqat to halt the Kingsmen’s progress.
Wickets began to tumble regularly as Pollard claimed the wicket of Powell, while Daniel Sams cut short Russell’s brief cameo of 10 runs off just 4 balls. Paul struggled to find momentum, scoring a slow 5 runs off 12 deliveries. Although pace bowlers utilized their slower cutters effectively and Pollard picked up three wickets, late contributions from Hassan Khan and Keacy Carty dragged the total to 150. The closing stages of the innings were interrupted twice by short rain intervals, pushing the final conclusion of the match to 1 AM. The report also notes that bringing up his fifty in the process, the chase was in tatters at 76/5 but Descarte counter-punched with two sixes off Vitel Lawes.
Brief Scores
- Jamaica Kingsmen150/9 in 20 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 47, Hassan Khan 16; Jakeem Pollard 3-38, Gudakesh Motie 2-7, Daniel Sams 2-41)
- Barbados Tridents151/8 in 20 overs (Sadrack Descarte 56, Gudakesh Motie 17*; Hunain Shah 2-25, Vitel Lawes 1-26)
- ResultBarbados Tridents won by 2 wickets.
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