Guyana Amazon Warriors upset Jamaica Tallawahs at Warner Park in CPL 2023, maintaining their winning streak.

With a 34-run victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs at Warner Park, the Guyana Amazon Warriors maintained their perfect start to the 2023 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Despite a rocky beginning with the bat, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul each scored fifty runs to help the Amazon Warriors post an impressive total of 210/7.

Five wickets fell in the first seven overs of the Tallawahs’ reply innings as a result of Romario Shepherd’s bowling, who was unable to contain the top order. The Tallawahs went from being in poor shape at 36/5 to being in excellent shape at 133/6 thanks to a magnificent partnership between Imad Wasim and Fabian Allen, but the damage done by those early wickets could not be undone.

Two wickets were taken by the Jamaica Tallawahs in the opening over, which was a great start for them.

Hazratullah Zazai was the first player to be removed after he chopped a ball from Chris Green to Imad Wasim at point on his CPL debut, leading to a two-ball duck.

The score was 7/2 and the Amazon Warriors were in danger of losing the game inside the PowerPlay when Saim Ayub eked a ball from Mohammad Amir through to the goalkeeper. The Warriors’ batting took over after Azam Khan hit a big six, but he was only out for seven when he was wonderfully collected by Salman Irshad who made a diving catch on the third boundary.

The fireworks really got going with Keemo, though Shai Hope made a nice 25 and had a 50-run stand with Shimron Hetmyer. Paul made his way to the crease. Hetmyer and Paul combined for a 99-run stand off of just 47 balls, both players going over fifty. Hetmyer made a scorching 60, while Paul was disqualified for a career-high 57.

The Warriors set a goal of 211, therefore it was up to Romario Shepherd and Dwaine Pretorius to lead them over that mark. While a difficult chase was inevitable, things became much more difficult for the Tallawahs when Romario Shepherd bowled a double wicket maiden. Shepherd eventually recorded figures of 3/7 from his three overs.

There were a lot of attacking shots fired during the stand between Allen and Imad, but there was too much remaining to be done because the required pace had become unmanageable. The needed rate was up to 20 runs per over when Imran Tahir removed Imad for 63. As the Jamaican team finished with 176 all out, Allen’s dismissal for 47 ended any slender chances of a Tallawahs victory.