Defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders start their 2018 Caribbean Premier League campaign with a bang.
Defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) gave the 2018 Caribbean Premier League a dramatic start as they defeated St Lucia Stars by a massive margin of 100 runs in the opening match of the T20 tournament.
TKR captain Dwayne Bravo won the toss at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, on Thursday and elected to bat first. Half-centuries by wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin (50*) and New Zealand international Colin Munro (68) propelled their side to 195/6 at the end of 20 overs. Mitchell McClenaghan, Kesrick Williams and skipper Kieron Pollard picked up two wickets each for St Lucia Stars.
In reply, St Lucia Stars were bowled out for just 95 runs. Barring opener Andre Fletcher (19), Pollard (12) and Qais Ahmad (14), none of the batsmen could even manage a double-digit score. TKR captain Bravo and Pakistani-Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed were the pick of the bowlers, bagging three wickets apiece.
Bravo was a happy man at the end of the match, saying he was satisfied by his team's effort. "When you retain 90 percent of the squad, it makes my job very easy. I want to credit the entire team and management. The guys have delivered today and I'm very happy. Fawad is a key player for us. Shadab played a key role for us last year and Fawad is not a bad player to have as replacement. Young Ali Khan, the way he started was brilliant.
"Not allowing them to get to the good start was very crucial for us. We have got the best fans in the world and they are our 12th man and I hope they will come out and support us like the way they did today. We will try our best to win as many games as possible," said Bravo
Opener Munro, declared Man of the Match for his blazing knock, revealed he was under a bit of pressure. "Was under a little bit of pressure. I was trying a little bit too hard. We are given the licence to play. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.
"The way Ramdin played in the end so calmly, it always helps. Every time I have adapted quite well. It's about learning. It's always not about hitting boundaries. We are the defending champions, the way we played it was outstanding," said Munro.
Losing captain Pollard, on the other hand, was disappointed by his team's performance. "I don't think we ticked any boxes. Couple of bowlers bowled well, that's all the positives we take from this game. It is just the first game. We'll try to bounce back. I think 175 would have been a good total for us to chase. Dropped catches didn't help and set the tone. It's cricket and we'll try to learn from it. It's a long tournament. They played well and they deserved to win," said the burly all-rounder.
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 "Trinbago Knight Riders' Dwayne Bravo (L) and Denesh Ramdin celebrate a wicket on Thursday")
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