Trinbago Knight Riders’ captain Kieron Pollard blew a flying kiss after he smacked one out of the park for a maximum off Thisara Perera in the 17th over to complete his fifty against Barbados Royals in St Lucia on Saturday.
The right-hander struck a boundary on the very next delivery to complete a comprehensive win for TKR by 6 wickets as they chased down a target of 123 runs with more than three overs to spare.
Trinbago needed to get the momentum back after they suffered a defeat in the first match of the competition and Pollard along with Denesh Ramdin showed their skills against the Royals to get the side back on track.
The Knight Riders had some early hiccups after they were reduced to 18/3 and were left tottering at 38/4 in 8th over when skipper Pollard and wicket-keeper batsman Ramdin joined hands and steadied the ship for the side.
The two batsmen made sure that there were no further dismissals and put up an unbeaten stand of 87 runs for the fifth wicket to see the side home.
But the game totally changed in the 15th over when Jason Holder took the ball in his hands. He had only given 8 runs in the first three overs that he had bowled but what unleashed next was simply disappointing for his side and left Holder in disarray.
He was hit for three sixes in his final over and ended up giving away 22 runs in total which also included a couple of no-balls to eventually return with figures of 0/30 in 4 overs.
Pollard (58*) and Ramdin (29*) then took less than two overs to go over the line and hand the side its first win of the season.
Mohammad Amir was the pick of the bowlers for Barbados after he scalped a three-for at the cost of 21 runs in 4 overs while Oshane Thomas too had an impressive day at the office as he returned with figures of 1/14 in 4 overs.
Earlier in the day, it was Isuru Udana show who ripped through the Barbados batting line up and bagged a five-wicket haul during the course. The Royals had a decent start to the proceedings as the openers Glenn Philips and Charles put up 29 runs for the first wicket.
But Charles’ departure broke the shackles and Barbados kept losing wickets at regular intervals to get bundled out for 122 in the final over.
However, Charles' wicket was a controversial one as the replays showed that it came off the shoulder and not the bat while the batter went for a hook on a short delivery from the bowler. But he was eventually given out and had to walk back into the hut.
Udana’s fifer included the wickets of Philips, Charles, captain Holder, Azam Khan and Thisara Perera.
Azam top-scored for Barbados with a 21-ball 30 that included a couple of sixes and as many boundaries but the middle-order failed to fire and the side was pushed on the backfoot.
Apart from Udana, Ravi Rampaul picked up two wickets while Hosein and Narine took one wicket apiece.
Barbados captain Holder expressed his disappointment and said that the players need to take up the responsibility.
“We didn't give ourself a fair chance (with that kind of a score). Guys need to take responsibility. We have had two tough games so far. It's a tricky situation, trying to defend 120 is difficult,” he said after the match.
TKR skipper Pollard admitted that the side didn’t really have a good start to the competition but lauded the efforts made by Ramdin and Udana to eventually give them the first win.
“Wasn't a great start for us yesterday. Even today it wasn't a great start, but these things happen,” he said.
“We were in a spot of bother today, but Ramdin played well. Shows the experience we have in this TKR line-up. I think Udana's come here to make a statement. He got those early wickets and we were able to support him at the backend,” Pollard added.
The Royals will now face Jamaica Tallawahs while TKR will be up against Saint Lucia Kings on Sunday.