Ali’s all-round show, Pretorius propel Warriors into Playoffs
Moeen Ali of the Guyana Amazaon Warriors top scored for his side against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. (Getty Images)
Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League…
Kaieteur Sports – All-rounder Mooen Ali had an exceptional night with both bat and ball as he starred in the latest low-scoring win by 27 runs, as the Guyana Amazon Warriors kept their win streak at Providence alive.
Chasing a moderate 136 for victory, the Falcons could only reach 108 being steamrolled in the 19th over, despite top-scorer Kofi James playing well for his 27 (3×4 1×6), ex-Warriors skipper Chris Green (17) and Joshua James 15.
Bowling for the champs revolved mostly around their spinners in Ali who had a fantastic spell, returning 3-9 who shared similar figures with pacer Dwaine Pretorius (3-9) while Imran Tahir (2-40) and Gudakesh Motie (1-24) kept the pressure mounting.
Earlier, the Warriors struggled against the quality bowling of the Falcons led by the Pakistani pair of left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir (2-15) and left-arm spinner Imad Wasim (2-39), posting just 135-7 after 20 overs.
Guyana Amazon Warriors captain, Imran Tahir, celebrates his 100th CPL wicket during their match with the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. (Getty Images)
England all-rounder Ali hit his stride late, ending on 42 off 33 (3×4 3×6) while struggling opener Azam Khan (29) had his best game to date.
Middle-order batsman Shai Hope (10) who continues to find scoring fluently difficult, along with the Guyanese pair of Shimron Hetmyer (13) and Romario Shepherd (10), were the only other double-figure scorers for the Warriors.
Falcons commenced their chase reasonably, taking the score to 50-3 by the halfway mark, but after the Warriors bowlers got their rhythm, the champs made light work of the opposition as they defended another below-par score at home.
