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Tallawahs look to rekindle form against Knight Riders

Published:Sunday | September 5, 2021 | 12:08 AMLennox Aldred - Gleaner Writer
Andre Russell (left) and Migael Pretorius of Jamaica Tallawahs walk off the field during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League match 3 between Jamaica Tallawahs and Saint Lucia Kings at Warner Park Sporting Complex on August 27, 2021 in Basseterre, St Ki
Randy Brooks - CPL T20
Andre Russell (left) and Migael Pretorius of Jamaica Tallawahs walk off the field during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League match 3 between Jamaica Tallawahs and Saint Lucia Kings at Warner Park Sporting Complex on August 27, 2021 in Basseterre, St Kitts, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The Jamaica Tallawahs will want to stop their win-loss trend as the second-place team take on third-placed Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in Match 18 of the Caribbean Premier League today at 1:30 pm Jamaica time in Basseterre.

After securing an impressive opening-tournament win against the St. Lucia Kings, the Tallawahs then lost their second game against the Barbados Royals. However, they roared back against the Royals to take game three, only to lose their fourth match against leaders St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

The Rovman Powell-led side will get their first taste of action against the Kieron Pollard-captained Knight Riders, who have two wins and three losses in the tournament so far.

The contest is shaping up to be a fast-bowling duel, with the tournament’s two leading wicket takers expected to square off on a good new pitch.

TKR seamer Ravi Rampaul is currently leading the wicket-taking table with 13 scalps, while the Tallawahs have South African pacer Migael Pretorious in their line-up with 10 wickets under his belt in four innings.

Captain Rovman Powell has had nothing but praise for the right-arm medium-fast bowler, who has come in and hit the ground running with the Jamaican franchise.

FITS IN PERFECTLY

“Migael fits in perfectly. He comes with a lot of aggression and a lot of smarts and skill, and that was what we are looking for at the Tallawahs,” said Powell.

Powell and the Tallawahs will be hoping that they can continue to put up good totals on the board, as they have been doing this season. The Tallawahs go into the match with the third-most runs scored so far this campaign, with 722 runs in four innings.

Those good numbers can be attributed to the good starts the team has been getting with the likes of Kennar Lewis and Chadwick Walton leading from the front, with Lewis currently in the top half of the run-scoring charts with 160 runs in four innings, with the highest individual score of 89.

That has also translated to a good net run rate for the team, which currently sits at 1.365.

Things are, however, not all positive for the Tallawahs, as they could be without wicket-keeper Walton, who pulled up with a hamstring injury in the last encounter against the Patriots.

Meanwhile, the Knight Riders will be banking on their experienced campaigners in captain Pollard, openers Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine and Kiwis Colin Munro and Tim Seifert. The bowling department is expected to be led by Rampaul and Sri Lankan Isuru Udana and Akeal Hosein.

sports@gleanerjm.com