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Pollard and Seifert smashed 49 in the last two overs to give the Knight Riders a fight total
Trinbago Knight Riders 167 for 4 (Simmons 42, Pollard 39 *, Wasim 1-13) beat Jamaican Tawallahs 92 (Powell 22, Ali Khan 4-6, Narine 2-11) by 75 runs
Beating first, the Knight Riders started cautiously, settling for going after a power-play ball without losing a wicket. However, as the innings progressed it became apparent that the spinners were hard to find, with Imad Wasim and Veersammy Paul allowing just 33 in their combined eight overs. They also took out Colin Munro and Leonardo Julien, while Carlos Brathwaite dealt with a discolored Lendl Simmons at the top.
The innings seemed to stagnate before Seifert went out with his partner Pollard. Crushing 24 balls out of just eight balls, Seifert also helped Pollard shift gears, setting up a chase that suddenly felt extremely stiff.
Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre played their roles at the top, complimenting Ali Khan in keeping things tight at the other end, while Tallawahs’ conviction to chase the total quickly waned. Ultimately, both innings illustrated the importance of tight-spin bowling, but the Knight Riders’ ability to keep their powder dry by having wickets at the end to play with, and an explosive final with the bat, had makes all the difference.
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @ Danny61000
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