In a rematch of the 2016 CPL final, Guyana Amazon Warriors exacted revenge behind Rashid Khan's hat-trick and Luke Ronchi's cold-blooded 70 off 33 balls to knock out the defending champion Jamaica Tallawahs at Brian Lara Stadium.
Tallawahs were on the back foot throughout Amazon Warriors' chase of 169 courtesy a splendid second-wicket stand of 67 in 5.1 overs between Ronchi and Chadwick Walton, before victory was sealed by a six from Assad Fudadin with 13 balls to spare.
For the second night in a row, the decision to open the batting with a player who hadn't played through the tournament produced underwhelming results.
The Tallawahs management decided to drop Glenn Phillips despite four 30-plus scores in seven innings in the competition. Captain Kumar Sangakkara said at the post-match presentation that the reason to include Lewis was because the Tallawahs "had gone soft in the Powerplay". Lewis managed 15 before he was bounced out by Rayad Emrit, caught at deep square leg in the fifth over.
Sangakkara and Andre McCarthy, a consistent performer for the Tallawahs this season, were pushed down two spots. Rather than giving their two leading scorers the most time to bat, their delayed entry may have cost the side 20-plus runs, particularly since Sangakkara finished unbeaten on 57 off 38 balls.
On Wednesday night, Rashid created CPL history with the tournament's first ever hat-trick. First was McCarthy, beaten driving by a googly to begin the 15th over. Jonathan Foo lunged at another googly next ball and was beaten easily as the ball knocked into leg stump.
Rovman Powell's dismissal was the worst stroke of the three, teased into chasing a flighted delivery well outside off that spun back sharply to hit off stump. At 116 for 7, Tallawahs were left with a struggle to get to a defendable total on a night where heavy dew made gripping the ball increasingly difficult as the night wore on.
Ronchi finished with 70 off 33 balls, setting up a showdown with Trinbago Knight Riders for a chance to return to the CPL final for the fourth time in five seasons.
Scores:
Jamaica Tallawahs 168-8 in 20 overs (L Simmons 34, T Griffith 20, K Sangakkara 57 n.o., Rashid Khan 3/32, S Jacob 2/33)
Guyana Amazon Warriors 169-5 in 17.5 overs (K Walton 39, L Ronchi 70, A Fudadin 29 n.o., Mahmudullah 3/25)
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