Twitter Reactions: Dwayne Smith ton keeps Tridents afloat in CPL

Barbados Tridents, after winning this match have kept themselves alive in the competition.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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Dwayne Smith
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BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS – AUGUST 31: Dwayne Smith of Barbados Tridents punches the air in celebration as he reaches his century during Match 25 of the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League between Barbados Tridents v St Lucia Stars at Kensington Oval on August 31, 2017 in Bridgetown, Barbados. (Photo by Ashley Allen – CPL T20 via Getty Images)

Barbados Tridents kept their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive as they brushed aside the winless St. Lucia Stars. Once again it was the home team which got the better of the visitors who struggled to find the right combination throughout the season. The Kieron Pollard led side won the all important encounter by 29 runs.

Finally, the team winning the toss opted to bat first and the Tridents got off to a decent start. Nicholas Pooran attacked everything from the word go as Dwayne Smith played second fiddle to him. But they lost Kane Williamson and Pooran in quick succession. Smith then started opening his arms and decided to take on the bowlers. As wickets kept falling at the other end, he continued his power hitting.

The opener stayed unbeaten right through and smashed a magnificent century, his second in 3 games, as Tridents piled up 195/4 in 20 overs. Smith remained unbeaten on 103 off just 65 deliveries in which he hit 5 fours and 8 colossal maximums. McCoy and Cornwall were the pick of the bowlers as they bowled their variations nicely and also picked crucial wickets. Skipper Shane Watson was the worst bowler for them as he looted runs at a massive economy of 18.3 in the 3 overs he bowled.

Cornwall’s hitting threatened Tridents

Stars looking for a consolation victory got off to the worst possible starts as they lost Andre Fletcher in the first over. Alike Tridents, the visitors too kept losing wickets at regular intervals but the new opener in Rahkeem Cornwall kept them in the hunt with some brutal hitting. Unfortunately, he had to retired hurt in the 18th over when the team needed him the most as the batsman was struggling to run. Eventually, Stars fell short by 29 runs despite some late hitting which could only entertain the crowd and they finished on 166/4.

Tridents were excellent at the death and even after the Cornwall blitz they had enough cushion of runs with them. Wahab Riaz and Pollard were superb with the ball as they returned with the figures of 1/15 and 1/22 from their quota of overs. Rampaul and Parnell supported well with timely wickets.

With the only spot left to grab for the playoffs, Guyana and Barbados are fighting it out as they 8 and 6 points respectively. Tridents though have one more match in hand but their net run rate is not great which means they will need some help from others despite winning both their games. For now, they are alive in the competition as they play the table toppers on Saturday. Also, they would be having their eyes on the next match between Tallawahs and Warriors.

Twitterati erupted to hail Smith heroics and troll Cornwall:

 

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