Perth Scorchers bowed out of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League T20 tournament with a thrilling 14-run win against reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in Match 10 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, Wednesday night.
Scorchers took first strike at the invitation of the home franchise and struggled to 135 all out in exactly 20 overs.
The Warriors, who have already secured their place in the final with three wins on the trot, were all out for 121 in 16.1 overs, with set batsman Shimron Hetmyer bowled by Ashton Agar with 14 needed off 24 balls, formalising the result.
Warriors, who topped the table with six points in this five-team tournament, had a rousing start with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quentin Sampson posting 47 runs in just 21 balls before the former was taken by Andre Fletcher at cover off Dian Forrester for a 16-ball 42 (5x6s, 2x4s).
Sampson fell for three and soon after Johnson Charles was bowled by Ashton Turner for 11.
Warriors’ innings stuttered further with the departure of Mohammad Nabi (5), Gudakesh Motie (4) and power-hitter Romario Shepherd (7) in quick succession.
Warriors’ hopes of making a clean sweep rested on the shoulders of Hetmyer, who was last man out for a fighting 31, bowled by Agar, who ended with 2-29 off 2.1 overs.
Skipper Turner was the most successful bowler for Scorchers, finishing with 3-20, while Sufyan Moqim took 2-18.
Earlier, Scorchers’ batting was dismantled by off-spinner Mohammad Nabi and seamer Matthew Forde, who combined for six wickets.
Nabi snared 3-12 across four frugal overs and Forde, who made the initial breakthrough, finished with impressive figures of 3-21 off three.
Brody Couch and Forrester lifted Scorchers from a precarious 78-8 with a 54-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Their lower-order resistance dragged the Australian side to their winning score, with Couch slamming 43 off 30 (3x6s, 4x4s).
Forrester played the anchor role and remained 35 not out from 34 balls.
Guyana Amazon Warriors, already through to Saturday’s final, will face the winner of Friday’s qualifier between San Francisco Unicorns and Desert Vipers. Both games start at 7pm. (Global Super League)
