Guyana Amazon Warriors pulled off a dramatic six-run win to retain the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) T20 trophy against San Francisco Unicorns on Saturday evening at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Defending champions Warriors recovered from a scarcely believable 29-8 to make 85 all out in 18.5 overs after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
Unicorns, in reply, were dismissed for 79, a direct hit to the stumps at the non-striker’s end by Shimron Hetmyer finding last-man Callum Stow short of his crease with seven balls remaining.
Unicorns’ innings was demolished by off-spinner Mohammad Nabi and pacer Dwaine Pretorius, who picked up 3-12 and 3-24 respectively.
Pretorius struck first ball by removing the in-form Tim Robinson, caught by wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, before Gudakesh Motie bowled Connor Esterhuizen with the first ball of the second over for five.
Soon after, skipper Hassan Khan (9) fell to Pretorius, caught by Hetmyer at mid-off.
Oliver Peake tried his utmost to stabilise the innings with a stubborn 31, but wickets kept falling around him with Sanjay Krishnamurti (9) and Hammad Azam (1) departing in quick succession.
Captain Imran Tahir was on a hat-trick having bowled Azam and Karima Gore off consecutive deliveries, before Fabian Allen and Peter Siddle dropped anchor with a fighting 14-run partnership that lasted 33 balls.
Earlier, Warriors, who dethroned Rangpur Riders last year, struggled for momentum as their batting collapsed in spectacular fashion.
Young leg-spinner Anirudh Immanuel was outstanding with 3-7, while the experienced Siddle grabbed 3-18.
Siddle had Johnson Charles lbw for two and sent back Haris in identical fashion for six. Warriors lost their most in-form batter and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for eight after he was brilliantly caught and bowled by Allen.
The home franchise then slipped to 26-6, having lost Hetmyer (4), Rovman Powell (2) and Nabi (2) inside the powerplay. However, Matthew Forde scored an invaluable 28, while Pretorius remained not out on 17.
Forde and Pretorius also shared a vital 41-run, ninth-wicket stand before Forde was caught in the deep and Unicorns wrapped up the innings when Tahir skied a catch to deep mid-wicket.
Pretorius was chosen as the Player of the Match for his match-winning all-round show, while Nabi copped the Player of the Tournament prize, having topped the wicket column with 10 scalps and tallying 53 runs, including a crucial 40 not out during the preliminary stage.
Five teams — the others being Desert Vipers, Lahore Qalandars and Perth Scorchers — featured in this third edition, with a prize pool of US$1 million at stake. (Global Super League)
