Tallawahs captain banking on momentum in CPL eliminator

The Jamaica Tallawahs will square off with the St Lucia Kings in today’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Eliminator, which is set to bowl off at 6 p.m. Jamaica time at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Captain Imad Wasim has made it clear that momentum will be key, as the Tallawahs sealed the last qualifying place following an impressive 122-run win over the Kings in their must-win final preliminary round fixture on Sunday.

The defending champions will have it all to do again against the Kings, if they are to extend their stay in the competition, and the Pakistani who took over the captaincy from Brandon King says it’s make-or-break time in the play-offs and his team will be on a high heading into today’s fixture.

“Now it’s the play-off and you never know what’s going to happen in the play-offs. I think last year was the same, we got the momentum right at the end and we kept it through. In cricket, momentum is very important, especially in league cricket,” said Wasim.

The Tallawahs’ top order has started to spark once again, with their English opener Alex Hales hitting a purple patch following his brilliant unbeaten 119 against the Kings.

Wasim has also contributed with the bat following his 41 from 24 balls, and the left-hander feels things are coming together at the right time for the side.

“We are in full confidence right now with our top order firing, and our lower order is doing well. Our fast bowlers are also doing well and everyone is in form. We really look like a dangerous team, to be honest,” added Wasim.

15 WICKETS

The skipper is also expected to factor with the ball against the Kings as his 15 wickets is the third most in the tournament and is one behind opening left-arm seamer Mohammed Amir, who is in second place with 16 wickets.

Off-spinner Chris Green is also in the mix, as his four wickets against the Kings have lifted his tally to 13 wickets and fourth in the wicket-taking column.

The Kings will be hoping to put their last performance against the Tallawahs behind them and come up with the goods in the Eliminator game that really counts for all the marbles.

The Sikandar Raza-led side is yet to beat the Tallawahs this season, and the Zimbabwean is hoping that they have gotten their bad game out of the way.

“In franchise cricket, you always say every team is due a bad game. So, for us, if I look on that side, I think our bad game is done now, so hopefully we will have three good games till the final.”