Simon Katich and Co. could be forgiven should they still be wondering what hit them! New South Wales had dominated nearly 70% of the game, if not more before a hurricane in the form of Kieron Pollar hit them and in the end made sure that it was Trinidad & Tobago who won from the jaws of defeat.
The champions from Australia won the toss and racked up an impressive 170/4 in their 20 overs. The openers laid the platform for the total with a solid foundation in the form of a 121 run opening stand.
Phillip Hughes top scored with 83 that came off 64 balls while Warner was the next best batsman with a 41 ball 63 that contained three 6s. When T&T batted, at 118/6 into the 16th over, NSW and most of the watchers for that matter would have thought that the match was as good as gone for the Caribbean side.
But Pollard had some completely different ideas. His big hitting prowess was once again on display as he tonked the bowling around in an innings that was arguably amongst the best ever T20 innings of all time. From a position where they needed 70 off 36 balls, the side managed to win with 9 balls to spare! Pollard who was unquestionably the ‘Man of the Match’ eventually remained unbeaten on 54 that came of a mere 18 balls, a knock that contained 5 boundaries and as many hits over the fence.
Nonetheless, it was NSW that had the upper hand in the first half of the match. As 24 runs came in the first two overs, it was clear that the openers had got into their rhythm already and were intent on getting a real big score on the flat track.
However, it was Hughes who was doing the bulk of the scoring as Warner couldn’t get much of the strike initially. The latter did get his chance though as he cut loose in the 12th over off Samuel Badree after some quiet overs post powerplay had threatened to stem the NSW momentum. 24 runs came off the 12th over but some tight bowling post that once again derailed the flow that the Aussie side had. In the 8 overs between them, Dave Mohammed and Sherwin Ganga conceded only 43 runs, a tally without which their side could have been chasing a lot more than what they did.
171 was still a stiff target and the batsmen from T&T were left with no choice but to continue employing their strategy of ‘hitting out’ even if that were to cost them wickets. 24 came in the first 2 overs but a flurry of wickets left them at 33/3 at the end of 5 overs. Both, Darren Ganga and Dwayne Bravo tried to hit their way out of trouble but perished just as they were looking to get a real big one. The partnership between Dinesh Ramdin joined Kieron Pollard saw the former hitting some lusty blows while Pollard was still only ‘getting his eye in’. Ramdin perished in the 16th over and at the end of that over 51 were still required off the remaining 4.
What followed next was something that few could have foreseen. Moises Henriques who till then had figures of 2-0-6-1 came into bowl the 17th over and was smashed for three 6s and two boundaries. 27 runs came from that over that contained some juicy full tosses which the batsman was only too happy to deal with. The equation now looked a much comfortable 24 required off 18 deliveries and as Katich persisted with Henriques, he was once again taken apart in the 19th over. 16 runs came off his 1st three balls and the match was sealed, quite appropriately another 6 being the winning shot.
With this win, T&T’s unbeaten run in the tournament continued and they’ve now all but sealed a spot in the semi finals. They next face Eagles on Sunday while NSW face Somerset on the same day.