But Kieron Pollard’s mighty hits, nine to be precise, changed the course of the match, earning Trinidad and Tobago an improbable four-wicket win in a League Stage match of the Champions League.
Chasing 171 to win, Trinidad were 120 for six at the end of the 16th over, staring at a certain defeat. But Pollard (54 n.o, 18b, 5x4, 5x6) smashed pacer Moises Henriques for 27 runs (w, 4, 4, 6, 6, 0, 6) in that momentous over to start a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Trinidad at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium here on Friday. However, more agony was in store for the New South Wales paceman as Pollard smashed another 16 runs (6, 6, 4) in Henriques’ fourth over to apply finishing touches to the proceedings.
Pollard, by then, had milked 43 runs from just nine balls, all off Henriques, as Trinidad celebrated a stunning victory, taking them a step closer to the semifinals.
In a crucial tie, Trinidad will face Diamond Eagles on Sunday while the Blues will take on Somerset CCC in a must-win match.
Before the Pollard blitz, the New South Wales total of 170 for four looked adequate to earn them an easy victory.
The constant fall of wickets and a tight bowling effort had shackled Trinidad batsmen for a large part of the match, but Trinidad had a superman in their line-up.
Earlier, the Trinidadians failed to check the free-scoring ways of Philip Hughes and David Warner, allowing the Blues to rack up a formidable 170 for four.
Warner and Hughes made aggressive fifties.
New South Wales made a perfect start with Hughes and Warner combining aggression and pragmatism in good proportion.
Big-hitting
Known for his big-hitting there were a lot of expectations on Warner but the stocky left-hander struggled for timing early on in his innings.
The New South Welsh man tried to hit the ball too hard, often leading his strokes straight to fielders.
Hughes, on the other hand, faced no such problems, timing beautifully from the word go and keeping the run flow at a healthy rate.
The diminutive left-hander, who added 121 runs in 15.2 overs, is a bundle of energy at the crease, and the vast repertoire of strokes makes him an awkward rival for the bowlers.
When they pitched it up, the Blues batsman drove with precision and when the test came in the shape of shorter balls Hughes punished it aptly with well-timed pulls.
Not until the 12th over Warner came up with his famed big hits.
The introduction of leg-spinner Samuel Badree was the spark Warner was looking for. The powerful batsman stuck into Badree with ferocity and the sequence of his first over read 2, 0, 6, 6, 4, 6 amounting to 24 runs and Badree was never in action with the ball again on the night.
The effort was enough on any other night to register a victory, but today was not an ordinary night.
Score board
NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES: Phi-lip Hughes c Pollard b Dwayne Bravo 83 (64b, 11x4,1x6), David Warner c Dwayne Bravo b Mohammad 61 (41b, 5x4, 3x6), Moises Henriques c Simmons b Dwayne Bravo 17 (11b, 1x4, 1x6), Ben Rohrer c Pollard b Dwayne Bravo 2 (3b), Steven Smith (not out) 3 (1b). Extras (LB-1, W-1) 2. Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 170.
Fall of wickets: 1-121 (Warner), 2-164 (Henriques), 3-164 (Hughes), 4-170 (Rohrer).
Bowling: Ravi Rampaul 3-0-38-0, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-31-3 (w-1), Sherwin Ganga 4-0-17-0, Dave Mohammad 4-0-26-1, Lendl Simmons 4-0-33-0, Samuel Badree 1-0-24-0. Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 50/0.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Lendl Simmons lbw Bollinger 3 (6b), William Perkins c Hauritz b Lee 16 (13b, 2x4, 1x6), Dwayne Bravo c Bollinger b Henriques 1 (5b), Darren Ganga (run out) 32 (26b, 1x4, 2x6), Darren Bravo (run out) 27 (24b, 2x6), Denesh Ram-din (run out) 23 (13b, 3x4, 1x6), Kieron Pollard (not out) 54 (18b, 5x4, 5x6), Sherwin Ganga (not out) 4 (7b). Extras (B-4, LB-3, NB-1, W-3) 11. Total (for 6 wkts, 18.3 overs) 171.
Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Perkins), 2-26 (Simmons), 3-30 (Dwayne Bravo), 4-77 (Darren Ganga), 5-91 (Darren Bravo), 6-117 (Ramdin).
Bowling: Brett Lee 3-0-17-1 (w-2), Bollinger 4-0-22-1 (nb-1), Henriques 3.3-0-49-1 (w-1), Hauritz 2-0-22-0, Clark 4-0-27-0, Smith 2-0-27-0.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 39/3.
