Top-order secures fifth win in five for Guyana Amazon Warriors

Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a fiery fifty while four others chipped in with valuable contributions to extend Guyana Amazon Warriors' winning streak to five matches in CPL 2026, beating Jamaica Kingsmen by eight wickets on Friday. Gurbaz and Mavendra Dindyal added 46 off 27 for the opening wicket, before Hope joined the Afghanistan batter for a longer alliance through the middle. Shimron Hetmyer then walked out and threw his bat around for a 17-ball 30*. Before the batters secured the win, Khary Pierre and Dwaine Pretorius set the game up with frugal spells - 41/4 in the seven overs between them.

Both Pretorius and Pierre made early inroads, picking a Powerplay wicket each to dent the Kingsmen early. They didn't take their foot off the pedal in the middle-overs either, picking another wicket each to derail any progress that the Kingsmen attempted to make. They went from 83/4 to 87/6, and ran the risk of a paltry total.

Hassan Khan's counter-attack helped drag his team out of the quagmire they were in. He added a 54-run stand with Odean Smith while accounting for 41 of those runs. He hit a hat-trick of sixes against Imran Tahir in the 19th over that fetched 21 runs. In the final over, he brought up a 25-ball fifty, taking 16 off it to push the team to 159/7.

The Amazon Warriors made a flying start. They lost opener Mavendra Dindyal in the fifth over, but a 17-run sixth over put them well ahead of the asking rate, with 65/1 in 6 overs. Gurbaz and Hope then consolidated the start, taking the team to 98/1 at the halfway stage. Gurbaz got his half-century in the 11th over but fell in the 12th.

This dismissal brought Hetmyer to the crease, who arrived with a sense of urgency. He got going in the 15th over with a big six off Vitel Lawes and laid into Jediah Blades in the 16th. Hope continued to be solid, and the pair saw the chase through in the 18th over.

Brief Scores: Jamaica Kingsmen 159/7 in 20 overs (Hassan Khan 62*; Dwaine Pretorius 2-20, Khary Pierre 2-21) lost to Guyana Amazon Warriors 160/2 in 17.2 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 54, Shai Hope 34*, Shimron Hetmyer 30*) by 8 wickets