Rodrigues steers Knight Riders into WCPL final

TAROUBA, Trinidad:

Jemimah Rodrigues propelled the Trinbago Knight Riders into the final of the 2024 Massy Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) with a thrilling four-wicket victory over the Barbados Royals at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

Chasing a target of 131 to secure their place in today's final, the Knight Riders found themselves in deep trouble at 43 for three. However, Rodrigues, the India cricketing star, anchored the innings with a composed unbeaten 59 off 50 balls.

The match reached a nail-biting climax as the Knight Riders required six runs in the final over. Showing nerves of steel, Rodrigues struck a boundary off Hayley Matthews on the third delivery, followed by a single on the next ball to keep their championship hopes alive by scoring 131 for six in 19.1 overs.

Bowlers rose to the occasion

Asked to take the first strike, the Barbados Royals found the going tough, thanks to some enterprising bowling.

Despite a shaky tournament for the Knight Riders' bowlers, they rose to the occasion during the Power Play, dismantling the Royals' top order and had them reeling at 59 for five in the 12th over.

However, opener Chamari Athapaththu led a recovery effort by scoring 70 off 63 balls to spruce up the Royals' score at 130 for seven.

Shikha Pandey, Shamillia Connell and Samara Ramnath all took two wickets each.

The Knight Riders' innings did not get off to the best possible start either, as they were in a spot of bother at 71 for four in the 11th over.

It took a 40-run fifth-wicket partnership between Rodrigues and Kycia Knight to get their run chase back on track, before Knight fell for 17 off 22 balls.

Pandey, who scored just five runs before she was run out, hung around long enough to ensure that the score was near enough for Rodrigues to get the team over the line.

The Royals had already secured their place in the final after winning their first three matches. But the stakes were high for the Knight Riders, who entered the match trailing the Guyana Amazon Warriors on net run rate.

Winning captain Deandra Dottin was pleased that the team put in a workmanlike performance to book their place in the final.

"I am very impressed. It is good to see that I am not the only one that can score the runs, as we saw that Rodrigues was outstanding with the bat," said Dottin.

"We will continue to be positive and keep the energy and support each other as we look for more success."

- CMC