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The BCCI will award INR 15 lakh each to the members of the men’s and women’s senior selection committees for having selected “good teams”. The decision was communicated at the end of the meeting between the board’s office bearers and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Delhi on Wednesday.”They have been rewarded for selecting good teams,” CoA member Diana Edulji told reporters.The men’s selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad and comprising Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi, has overseen a fruitful period for India since its appointment in September last year. During the last 12 months, India registered Test series wins in West Indies and at home over New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, before sealing the ongoing series in Sri Lanka 2-0. India also had a good run in limited-overs cricket, winning home series against New Zealand and England, and being runners-up at the Champions Trophy in June.The Hemalata Kala-led women’s panel, which includes Lopamudra Banerjee and Shashi Gupta, has also enjoyed much success over the last year. Mithali Raj’s team won the Asia Cup and the Quadrangular tournament featuring South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe, before making the final of the World Cup in June.In other developments, the question of India’s participation in the Olympics, Edulji said, would be decided by the BCCI’s general body. The other point of discussion was the revision of domestic players’ wages for which Edulji said BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary was entrusted with firming up the modalities of the revised arrangement. The matter would be taken up during the CoA’s next meeting on August 23 in Mumbai. On the subject of payment of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s pending dues, Edulji said it had been referred to the board’s general body. She also said that the legal team was studying Sreesanth’s case after the Kerala High Court overturned his life ban imposed by the BCCI.

England will go into a Lord’s Test with two spinners for the first time in almost a quarter of a century on Thursday.Ahead of his first Test as captain, Joe Root confirmed that Liam Dawson will form a two-pronged spin attack with Moeen Ali in the first Test of the series against South Africa. It will be the first time England have fielded two specialist spinners in a Lord’s Test since 1993. On that occasion, they conceded 632 for 4 in the first innings on their way to an innings defeat.Some might dispute that neither Dawson nor Moeen is a specialist spinner. Neither has a first-class bowling average under 36 (Moeen’s is 41.89 and Dawson’s 36.86) and it is true that neither would have enjoyed the careers they have without the batting ability that renders them more valuable to each team they represent. They are allrounders by most reasonable definitions.It is Dawson’s inclusion that is most intriguing. Or, as he termed it, “a bit unexpected”. Halfway through the India tour, Adil Rashid looked as if he had gone a long way to establishing himself as England’s first-choice spinner. He claimed 23 wickets in the series.But his star faded as the series progressed. And Dawson, making his debut in Chennai, not only offered England some control with the ball (he conceded three an over in that Test while Rashid went at 5.15) but struck an unbeaten 66 in England’s first innings. Rashid, to be fair, also scored 60 but Dawson emerged as a man the England management felt they could rely upon in all situations. He’s not necessarily a match-winner, but he can keep an end tight and provide late-order acceleration or rebuilding as required with the bat.While that might not, at first glance, appear to fit with the bold talk of positivity that surrounded Root’s elevation to the captaincy, it’s worth remembering that England lost eight Tests in 2016. A team containing the likes of Root and Ben Stokes and Moeen doesn’t necessarily require more flair but more solidity. Dawson looked calm amid the storm in Chennai and while it is hard to see him pulling off spectacular individual performance, it is a team game and he can contribute a supporting role in all departments.It means that Toby Roland-Jones again has to wait for his chance. Even with all the other seamers coming into this Test with something to prove as regards their fitness and even on a surface that just might prove uncharacteristically green, five frontline seamers could have been excessive. Not since 2003 have England fielded five seamers in a Test.When all options are fit, Roland-Jones remains behind Chris Woakes and Jake Ball in the hierarchy, too. With the likes of Jamie Overton, the Curran brothers and Tom Helm also developing, time is probably running out for the 29-year-old Roland-Jones.There have been a couple of other notable faces at Lord’s over the last couple of days. Gary Palmer, the freelance batting coach, had a long session with Alastair Cook that started at 7am on Monday morning (Palmer has been working with Cook regularly over recent months with some success but has found his requests to work with other Test candidates falling on deaf ears), while Chris Taylor, the fielding coach, was also involved in training on Tuesday. Taylor has, on the whole, been used in white-ball sessions, so it is fair to interpret his presence as an attempt to increase the emphasis on fielding. Saqlain Mushtaq, the spin-bowling consultant, and Andy Hurry, head of the ECB’s cricket development programme, were also among the coaching team.Root also confirmed that Gary Ballance would return to the side at No. 3 with the captain dropping to No. 4. Both would, you sense, prefer No. 4 to No. 3, but Root – having fought for the selection of his old friend, flatmate and colleague – is the boss and may well require Ballance to take responsibility for the higher position.Might it have made more sense to pick a specialist for such a position? Mark Stoneman, in particular, can probably count himself unfortunate. Even for England Lions at the weekend, Ballance batted at No. 4.Either way, a recall to No. 3 is a huge ask for a man enjoying his third – and potentially final – incarnation as an England player. But a few months ago it seemed Ballance had almost no way back as a Test player. This is a great opportunity for him.

The South African camp is confident their captain AB de Villiers will deliver in what could be a must-win match against India on Sunday. Though de Villiers contributed only four runs in two group matches, and is nursing a slight hamstring injury, South Africa coach Russell Domingo and de Villiers’ team-mates expect him to come through when it counts.”I have no concerns about AB de Villiers,” Domingo said. “I’m expecting him to put in a big performance on Sunday. He’s that type of player that when the team needs him, he’ll turn it up on Sunday. I’m sure about that.”De Villiers will be treated for his niggle – a tight right hamstring – over the next two days and will have a fitness test on Saturday to determine his availability for Sunday’s match.In the absence of runs from de Villiers, South Africa have had to rely on Hashim Amla against Sri Lanka and David Miller against Pakistan to provide backbone for their innings. Miller was happy to share the load. “It is tough [when AB doesn’t perform],” Miller said. He is the best player in the world so it’s nice when he does perform, and that’s 95% of the time.”I haven’t seen him go out for a nought too many times in his career. He is human at the end of the day and there are enough good batters in the team to contribute as well. I don’t think it’s a huge problem at all. We’ve done well over the last two-and-a-half years and all the batters that we have can do the job. AB, unfortunately, didn’t come off but he is definitely due on Sunday.”All the talk about Sunday’s match and the expectations of de Villiers performing may only put pressure on a man who is already under some strain. De Villiers’ form was questioned before the tournament, after an IPL which even Domingo described as “quiet,” although de Villiers felt he was “hitting the ball better than ever”.That may be true but, after his first golden duck in 212 ODI innings, he is also hitting the ball straight to fielders. The pressure on de Villiers is mounting and for Morne Morkel that means the rest of the South African seniors have to step up.”It’s a big tournament for him (AB), and for all of us. We are hungry to take this trophy back home. He is only human. Us as players or team-mates, we need to stand up as well and take responsibility,” Morkel said. “It’s not all on AB’s shoulders. “With de Villiers opting out of Test cricket for the rest of this year, a second child on the way, and the way he has spoken about wanting to manage his time, speculation over his international career is growing. But Morkel said de Villiers still had the desire to keep going. “AB has got all the energy and is still hungry to play,” he said.Morkel intends to be at de Villiers’ side in that. After a comeback to the ODI side following a year on the sidelines, the fast bowler provided South Africa’s attack with much-needed stability. Although he continues to compete with an allrounder for his place in the XI, Morkel was hopeful of playing against India on Sunday, expecting “something special” from a South African side.”It’s going to take a big team effort to knock over India,” he said. “They are a confident team at the moment but we have to back ourselves to win.”

Match facts

Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Start time 2000 IST (1430 GMT)2:37

Agarkar: Bangalore bowlers need to step up

Form guide

• Kolkata Knight Riders (Second): Lost to Gujarat Lions by four wickets; beat Delhi Daredevils by four wickets; beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs

• Royal Challengers Bangalore (Seventh): Beat Lions by 21 runs; lost to Rising Pune Supergiant by 27 runs; lost to Mumbai Indians by four wickets

Head to head

Last season: Each team won their away match – Royal Challengers thumped Knight Riders by nine wickets at Eden Gardens but lost their home match by five wickets.Overall: Knight Riders have won 10 of the 19 matches between the two sides. At Eden Gardens, Royal Challengers have won three out of seven matches.

In the news

Seamer S Aravind said that AB de Villiers, Samuel Badree and Tymal Mills were likely to be fit for the match against Knight Riders. If that is the case, and Royal Challengers look at picking both overseas players, at least Travis Head and Shane Watson could make way for them.

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders 1 Sunil Narine, 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Chris Woakes/Colin de Grandhomme, 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Umesh YadavRoyal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 Travis Head/AB de Villiers, 4 Kedar Jadhav (wk), 5 Mandeep Singh/Harpreet Singh, 6 Stuart Binny, 7 Shane Watson/Samuel Badree, 8 Pawan Negi, 9 Adam Milne/Billy Stanlake/Tymal Mills, 10 S Aravind, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Strategy punt

• In the match against Lions, Knight Riders opened their attack with spin – Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan. If Gayle plays, that plan may be used again. Narine has one of the best economy rates against Gayle among spinners (4.39) in T20s, and has dismissed him four times – twice in the IPL.
• Knight Riders will also be mindful of Royal Challengers’ struggles in the Powerplay, especially against spin. In the Powerplay this season, Royal Challengers have scored the fewest runs among all teams: 239 at a run rate of 6.83. Against spin in Powerplays, they have scored at a rate of 4.33, the slowest, compared to 7.33 against pace. Some of those struggles, however, are also down to the constant shuffling in the line-up forced by injuries and form: they have had five opening pairs this season, compared to three for Knight Riders and Lions.

Key stats

• Knight Riders will be particularly keen to get Gayle out early. At Eden Gardens, Gayle has scored 471 runs in nine innings, his second-best tally at a ground during the IPL after the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Since his switch to the Royal Challengers franchise in 2011, Gayle’s scores at Eden Gardens have been: 102*, 86, 6, 96 and 49, all batting second. Three of those knocks have resulted in wins.
• Knight Riders will also be looking to improve their own bowling record in the Powerplay this season: it has been their weakest passage with the ball, with three wickets at an economy rate of 9.11. Their bowlers have been the strongest during the middle overs (7-15th), taking 22 wickets, the most, at an economy rate of 7.68.
• Royal Challengers’ economy rate of 8.67 in the middle overs is, by contrast, the second poorest among teams this season, and they have taken 12 wickets in that phase. Their bowlers have been most effective in the Powerplay with 10 wickets at an economy rate of 8.25
• Manish Pandey has hit 11 sixes in the tournament, already his personal best in an IPL season. He has, however, had a bigger impact with the bat: 236 of his 245 runs in the tournament so far have come outside of the Powerplay overs, the most by a batsman this season. To put that in perspective from Knight Riders’ point of view, the next most successful batsman for them outside of the Powerplay is Robin Uthappa with 138 runs. Pandey’s contribution to Knight Riders’ tally outside of the Powerplay stands at 35.54%.

Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:22

Fernando: SL could have declared at 350

A sparkling Soumya Sarkar fifty set Bangladesh’s fourth innings off apace, but the visitors remained 390 runs adrift, on a pitch expected to become prickly on the final day. That they had as many as 457 to chase was partly thanks to Upul Tharanga, who sailed to his first home Test century in the afternoon session, as well as a conservative declaration from Rangana Herath. At the time of declaration, 125 overs remained in the match, but it is highly unlikely so many will be possible – bad light and rain ate up 12 overs at the tail end of day four.

Tharanga’s maiden home ton

• 1 Upul Tharanga scored his maiden Test century at home. He averages 27.66 after 24 innings at home, compared to an away average of 41.28 from as many innings.

• 4 Instances of an opening stand of 50-plus in both innings of a Test for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar put together 118 in the first innings, and their unbroken stand in the second innings has been worth 67 so far. They have not had century opening stands in both innings of a Test yet.

• 2012 The last time Sri Lanka had a bigger opening partnership in Galle than the 69 by Dimuth Karunaratne and Tharanga. Since 2013, this was only the third 50-plus stand for the home team in 16 innings at the venue.

• 99 Highest successful run-chase in Galle, by the home team against Pakistan in 2014. Bangladesh need 457 in this match – the second-highest target at the venue. The highest fourth-innings total at Galle is 300.

Having been somewhat watchful in the first session, it was after lunch that Tharanga opened his shoulders. He cracked successive fours off Mustafizur Rahman and then routinely strode down the pitch to meet the spinners. Especially severe was he on errors of length, creaming languid boundaries through midwicket and square leg, though he also used the cut and sweep to good effect. He used up 109 balls to reach his half century; his next 47 runs were studded with five boundaries, and came off 44 deliveries. Tharanga paused briefly on the brink of his century, then immediately began to attack again, launching Shakib Al Hasan over long-on. Two more fours were smoked off Mehedi Hasan next over, before Tharanga was bowled trying to attempt a third – Mehedi tossing the ball bravely up, and beating the batsman in the air.Mehedi had in fact been among Bangladesh’s most impressive bowlers on a difficult day. He claimed two wickets under duress, delivering a good mix of turning balls and straighter ones, with an in-out field in place. Shakib took two wickets as well, but it was Mustafizur Rahman who delivered the most immaculate lines and lengths – in the morning session he had delivered four successive maidens, and he conceded only 24 in his nine overs in the day.Sri Lanka’s declaration did not come until after Dinesh Chandimal got to fifty after tea, but nevertheless, they batted most of the afternoon session like a declaration was imminent. Thanks largely to Tharanga, they had hit 160 runs at 5.16 an over, and happily did they burn four wickets in the pursuit of these quick runs. Sweeps and reverse sweeps against the turn were attempted. Bowlers often had batsmen running down the pitch at them. For the first time there appeared to be substantial purchase off this pitch as well, so the contest between bat and ball was roughly even. If Bangladesh had held chances off Dinesh Chandimal, who was dropped on 11, or Dimuth Karunaratne, who was dropped on seven, they may have been more successful in slowing Sri Lanka’s advance.Upul Tharanga struck his third Test century as Sri Lanka piled on a substantial lead on the fourth day•AFP

Sri Lanka, though, were themselves unsatisfied with a lead of 350 – though no team had ever scored more than 300 at this venue – or even 400. Herath’s thinking, perhaps, was to eliminate the chance of a Bangladesh victory almost entirely, which might allow him to ring the batsman with fielders with little consequence.This is in fact what he did in the 15 overs Bangladesh batted, and perhaps it is what allowed Sarkar to hurtle to 53 off 47 balls by the close of play. He hit six fours and one six – all off the spinners, and all square of the wicket. Herath did not bring the younger, more attacking bowlers on before stumps; Lakshan Sandakan and Lahiru Kumara would be reserved for the big push on the final day.In the morning session, neither opening batsman had seemed fluent, and with both their places in the side under some pressure, had not ventured many attacking strokes. In fact one of the few occasions that Karunaratne attempted to hit out, he supplied Bangladesh an opportunity to get him out: Shakib going on to drop the mis-hit lofted drive at short cover to deny Mehedi a wicket. He was moved to caution by that scare, but did not make much use of the second life, swatting a Taskin Ahmed ball carelessly into the legside, where Mahmudullah ran in off the rope to complete and excellent diving catch. Though Bangladesh also made plenty of fielding mistakes, there would be an even better catch later in the day, when Liton Das lunged to his left to intercept a reverse-paddle from Niroshan Dickwella.More rain is forecast for the fifth afternoon, but to defy Sri Lanka, Bangladesh will have to resist Herath – the bowler with the most fourth-innings five-wicket hauls in cricket, bowling on a favourite strip.

South Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey has broken the all-time record for most dismissals in a Sheffield Shield season. Carey achieved the feat on the fourth morning of the Shield final against Victoria in Alice Springs, when he pouched a take to remove the Bushrangers’ nightwatchman Chris Tremain off the bowling of Daniel Worrall.That catch took Carey to 59 dismissals this Shield summer, passing the previous record of 58 shared by Queensland glovemen Wade Seccombe (in 2000-01) and Chris Hartley (in 2011-12). Last month Hartley, who has since announced his retirement, told ESPNcricinfo that while he rated Peter Nevill the finest wicketkeeper in the country, Carey was one to watch for the future.”I think one to keep an eye on is Alex Carey from South Australia,” Hartley said at the time. “He hasn’t played a lot of cricket at this level just yet, and it’s not just the fact that he’s taken quite a few dismissals this year – I’ve kept an eye on the way he’s gone about it.”He moves well, he’s got some very good basics. That’s key for any cricketer, but certainly for wicketkeepers: if you don’t have your basics in order, when you’re under pressure or fatigued that gets found out.”Carey, 25, has not only had an outstanding season with the gloves, but has also compiled 549 Shield runs at 32.29. Although he is still searching for his maiden first-class century, his efforts make him just the fourth man to complete the double of 500 runs and 50 dismissals in a Shield season – Hartley did so three times, while Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Wade have each achieved the feat once.Carey’s efforts are all the more impressive given that this has been his first full season as South Australia’s first-choice wicketkeeper. He made his debut in February 2013 and entered this season with seven games to his name, having previously been second in line behind Tim Ludeman for the state’s wicketkeeping duties.

Hyderabad seamer Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan took three wickets each to help their side bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for 228 and set up a 29-run win. A 70-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Parvez Rasool and Ahmed Bandy, which came at more than eight runs an over, had put J&K’s chase of 258 back on track after quick wickets. However, once both batsmen were out, the lower order slumped quickly – J&K lost their five wickets for 22 runs to fold in the 43rd over.Earlier, fifties from openers Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy carried Hyderabad to 257. Their 127-run opening partnership gave Hyderabad a platform strong enough to survive a brief slide where they lost four wickets within five overs, before S Badrinath and Hasan nudged the score past 200. Hasan remained unbeaten on 28 off 26 balls, having seen the side through to 257.MS Dhoni’s 50-ball 43 and Saurabh Tiwary’s 68 were not enough to help Jharkhand chase down a target of 267 against Karnataka, who won by five runs with only one ball to spare. The pair came together with Jharkhand at 79 for 4 in the 20th over and added 81 runs to put the chase back on track. After Dhoni fell, Tiwary kept the chase alive with a rapid 39 runs for the seventh wicket with Shabaz Nadeem off 26 deliveries. However, Tiwary’s dismissal in the 42nd over left Jharkhand with another 63 to get and although the lower order strung up partnerships, the side was eventually dismissed off the penultimate ball of the game. Rahul Shukla was the last man to fall, run out for 23 off 20 balls, having driven the lower-order partnerships. K Gowtham had returns of 4 for 58.Shukla had earlier taken 4 for 45 in his nine overs as Karnataka were bowled out for 266. Ravikumar Samarth (71) and Manish Pandey (77) struck fifties and shared a 116-run partnership for the third wicket. Pavan Deshpande, too, chipped in with 36 off 34 balls.Seamer Suraj Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Nakul Verma played stellar hands in Services‘ 48-run victory over Saurashtra.Yadav struck three times in his first two overs – including two wickets off two balls in the first over – to leave Saurashtra’s chase of 263 in trouble. Their score of 6 for 3 soon became 44 for 5 and they only managed to limp to 215 due to half-centuries from Prerak Mankad (58) and Jaydev Unadkat (57). Yadav returned to pick up one more wicket for figures of 4 for 47.Earlier, Verma’s second List-A century, 124 off 132 balls at the top of the order, set the base for Services’ total of 263 for 9. The remaining Services batsmen got starts but only Soumya Swain made a substantial contribution among them, with 32 off 36 deliveries. Seamer Shaurya Sanandia took 4 for 67 for Saurashtra

Keshav Maharaj and Khaya Zondo’s dominating first-innings performances against Lions helped Dolphins consolidate their lead at the top of the table in the Sunfoil Series. Zondo struck his seventh first-class century, an unbeaten 290-ball 141 that included 21 fours, to lift Dolphins to 339 in the first innings after they opted to bat in Pietermaritzburg.Vaughn van Jaarsveld chipped in with a brisk 53. Seam-bowling allrounder Dwaine Pretorius claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class matches, returning figures of 5 for 54. In reply, the Lions were quickly reduced to 4 for 49. Dominic Hendricks and Pretorius brought the Lions some respectability with a 91-run partnership.After Hendricks was dismissed for 78, Kagiso Rapulana hit a patient 52 to push Dolphins’ total to 267. Left-arm spinner Maharaj finished with figures of 6 for 86.Entering the fourth day with a lead of 72, Dolphins set up a late declaration after posting 189 for 5 in 51 overs, taking the safety-first approach to ensure the Lions didn’t have enough time to bowl them out. Zondo struck a 139-ball 54. Left-arm fast bowler Beuran Hendricks took 3 for 48. The Lions chose not to go after the steep target of 262, as the game petered out into a draw.

Andrew Birch’s five-wicket haul helped Warriors close in on Titans‘ top position in the table with a six-wicket win in Centurion. After Titans were restricted to 147, the Warriors chase was steered by half-centuries from Colin Ingram and Colin Ackermann.Put in to bat, Aiden Markram (23) and Heinrich Klaasen (26) got starts, but Titans lost wickets regularly once Birch broke the opening stand in the third over. Sisanda Magala and the rest of the attack reduced them to 88 for 5 before Birch returned and took four of the remaining five wickets. That Warriors recovered to 147 was down to Albie Morkel (25 off 21) and David Wiese (36 off 28), and their stand of 42 for the sixth wicket. Birch finished with career-best T20 figures of 5 for 16.Warriors also lost their first wicket early, to Morkel, but JJ Smuts and Ingram put on a rapid 68 in 8.1 overs to put their chase on track. Once Smuts fell for 33 off 25, Ingram and Ackermann pushed the score past 100, and though Ingram fell to Tabraiz Shamsi for 50 off 45, and Ackermann for a quicker 53 off 34 with three sixes, the chase was sealed with seven balls to spare.At the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin dented Knights’ chase of 183 with 4 for 39 to give Lions a 20-run win. It was Knights’ sixth consecutive defeat, after their win over Cape Cobras in the tournament opener, as they continued to languish at the bottom of the table.Knights lost Michael Erlank on the first ball of the chase, caught off fast bowler Hardus Viljoen. Partnerships of 46 for the second wicket between captain Theunis de Bruyn and Leus du Plooy, and 50 for the third wicket between du Plooy and Pite van Biljon helped them recover. Du Plooy was trapped lbw by Fortuin having top-scored with 45, and when van Biljon fell to the same bowler for 42, Knights were 123 for 5. They lost another wicket at the same score, before slapping 39 runs off the last 25 balls to finish on 162 for 6.Opting to bat, Lions had a solid foundation laid by openers Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks, who put on 66 in 6.5 overs. Hendricks struck five fours and two sixes in his 31-ball knock, and when he fell at the halfway stage, caught off de Bruyn’s pace bowling, he had made 53 out of Lions’ total of 88. Thereafter, Nicky van den Bergh took over and pinged four fours and three sixes before perishing in the last over for 57 off 35.Knights’ bowlers shared the wickets equally with Marchant de Lange, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Aubrey Swanepoel and de Bruyn taking a wicket apiece.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKesrick Williams picked up two wickets off two balls in the 16th over•CPL/Sportsfile

A rematch from Wednesday’s first Caribbean Premier League playoff qualifier between the regular season’s top two teams quickly turned into an uncontested romp for Jamaica Tallawahs, who rampaged past Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets to claim their second CPL title on Sunday night at Warner Park. For Warriors, it was a flat effort that left them runner-up for the third time in four CPL seasons, twice to Tallawahs.Warriors were the regular season table-toppers and beat Tallawahs in two of their prior three meetings, including by four wickets in Wednesday’s opening playoff match. On Sunday, however, they stumbled badly after being sent in by Chris Gayle at the toss and were bowled out for a franchise record low total of 93 in just 16.1 overs. Warriors never won a game while batting first in 2016, and lost all three games in which they batted first, with two of those losses coming against Tallawahs.Warriors were under pressure early when Nic Maddinson became the first of three batsmen dismissed first ball, edging Andre Russell behind in the first over. A bigger blow came at the start of the third over when Chris Lynn, the tournament’s leading scorer, carved Shakib Al Hasan straight to Jonathan Foo at backward point for 7.Left-handed Sohail Tanvir was promoted up the order to No. 4 in an attempt to combat the left-arm spin threat posed by Shakib and Imad Wasim. At an individual level, the plan worked as Tanvir top-scored with 42 off 37 balls, but the rest of his team-mates struggled. Despite Tanvir’s calm, chaos was ever-present at the opposite end. Dwayne Smith was one of just two others apart from Tanvir to reach double-figures but his stay ended for 17 when he top-edged a pull off Oshane Thomas to Rovman Powell at mid-on to make it 50 for 3 in the eighth.With the top three removed, Shakib and eventual Man of the Match Imad Wasim set about tearing through the middle order in ruthless fashion. Jason Mohammed was trapped playing down the wrong line to an arm ball from Shakib for a golden duck to make it 53 for 4 before Imad took the first of his three wickets as Christopher Barnwell mistimed a slog to Gayle at short midwicket for 10. Two balls later, Anthony Bramble was bowled backing away for a slog and Imad claimed his third in four balls to start the 15th when Rayad Emrit was stumped for nought missing a flick to a leg-side wide to make it 83 for 7.Kesrick Williams also was on a hat-trick in the 16th over – he had Tanvir caught by Foo running in from the midwicket boundary, and followed it up with a gem of a delivery that jagged back in to knock Steven Jacobs’ off stump for 7. Adam Zampa survived the hat-trick ball to end the over, but was out one ball later after failing to ground his bat coming back for a second run with Williams’ relay from long leg to Sangakkara producing the end of the innings.Gayle propelled the chase with his third fifty-plus score of the season, reaching his half-century off 22 balls and ending up with 54 off 27 balls. He was dismissed flicking Emrit to Jacobs at deep midwicket. The Tallawahs captain ended the campaign as his side’s leading scorer with 425 runs, third overall behind Lynn and St Lucia Zouks’ Johnson Charles. Gayle’s opening partner Chadwick Walton steered the rest of the chase with 25 not out, ending seventh overall in the CPL run charts with 301 runs and second for Tallawahs.However, it was the old pro Kumar Sangakkara who struck the winning runs with a four smeared wide of long-on off Veerasammy Permaul to clinch the title with 7.1 overs to spare. Russell was named Player of the Tournament thanks in large part to his scintillating 100 in Friday’s knockout game against Trinbago Knight Riders. Russell struck the fastest century in Caribbean T20 history, off just 42 balls, and also broke a three-game Tallawahs losing streak lifting them into the final.