Narine, Pooran keep TKR's CPL 2026 campaign alive

Trinbago Knight Riders managed to keep their faint qualification hopes alive with a convincing 35-run victory over the Barbados Tridents in a low-scoring game at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday. TKR posted just 147/6, riding on the back of Nicholas Pooran's 59. Their defence was then led by spinners Sunil Narine and Jyd Goolie, who claimed seven wickets between them to keep Tridents tied down to just 112. TKR'sinnings was anchored around Colin Munro after they lost Narine cheaply for two, put in to bat first by Tridents. Munro made a steady 38 off 32 ballsstitching a defninng 68-run stand with Pooran. The skipper provided the much-needed impetus to the innings, top-scoring with a aggressive 59 off 37 balls, hitting seven maximums and a couple of fours.

The partnership was broken by Mujeeb ur Rahman in the 11th over when he cleaned up Munro. Pooran fell three overs later, and TKR's innings never recovered from the twin setbacks. Kieron Pollard chipped in 15 off 13, while Joshua Da Silva added 10 lower down the order to push for at least 150 but fell just short asGudakesh Motie (3 for 29) and Mujeeb (2 for 22) tied them down.

Chasing 148, Barbados got off to a disastrous start. The brief opening partnership was broken by Narine, who claimed Brandon King and no. 3 Quinton de Kock on successive deliveries in the third over. Narine claimed his third in quick succession, handing a four-ball duck to Rivaldo Clarke.Chris Green's dismissal reduced Tridents to 35/4 inside the Powerplay.

Zachary Carter and Sherfane Rutherford made 21 each, in contrasting styles, but the tight overs Narine and Goolie sequeezed in never allowed Tridents to pick up momentum again. Regular strikes kept them in check as well.Daniel Sams cleared the ropes twice, making 17 off 14 but the cameo was short-lived. Tridents were shot down for just 112 in the penultimate over. Narine'sgame-defining spell of 4 for 12 in 3.3 overs earned the Knight Riders a campaign-saving 35-run victory and him the Player of the Match award.

Brief scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 147/6 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 59, ColinMunro 38; Gudakesh Motie 3-29, Mujeeb ur Rahman 2-22) beat Barbados Tridents112 in 18.3 overs ( Zachary Carter 21, Sherfane Rutherford 21; Sunil Narine 4-12, Jyd Goolie 3-20) by 35 runs