Patriots bowlers keep cool to secure thrilling one-run win

Sheldon Cottrell and Carlos Brathwaite struck three blows apiece to cause damage in Barbados' top and middle-order, while Dominic Drakes closed out the game with a superb final over at Bridgetown on Saturday, 28 September.

The chase witnessed many twists and turns. Barbados seemed to be in control of proceedings in the middle overs when Shakib Al Hasan, playing his first match of the season, steered them to 85/2 in 11.2 overs.

But Brathwaite turned things around when he dismissed Shakib for a 25-ball 38 and then removed Jonathan Carter for two only three balls later. The Barbados batsmen began panicking and when Brathwaite dismissed JP Duminy for 18, they had slipped to 99/7, requiring 50 runs from just under five overs with only the lower-order batsmen to spare.

Patriots would have hoped to then wrap things up quickly, but Raymon Reifer had other ideas. The No.8 batsman, who had been expensive with the ball earlier, smacked three sixes in his 18-ball knock of 34 to keep Barbados in the hunt till the end.

He brought the equation down to 25 off the final two overs and seemed in control when he played a fierce pull shot over deep square leg for six off Cottrell off the third ball in the 19th over. But the West Indies bowler, who had earlier dismissed Johnson Charles (13) and Ashley Nurse (2), pulled things back in the latter half of his over, conceding only four runs and also picking up the wicket of Hayden Walsh.

Reifer wasn't to go down without a fight as he struck a six on the first ball of the final over off Drakes to reduce the equation to almost a run a ball. But he was run out next ball as he attempted a hasty second run off a drive to long-off. Defending two off the final ball, Drakes bowled a straight yorker to Harry Gurney, who missed his shot and had his timber disturbed.

There were many heroes in Patriots' effort, including Shamarh Brooks, who scored a sublime 33-ball 53 to help them post a respectable score, but Brathwaite was awarded Player of the Match for turning things around in the middle-overs of Barbados' chase.

"To be honest I don't think I deserve [the Player of the Match award]," Brathwaite said after the game. "Shamarh Brooks played a superb stabilising innings. We wanted to give Dominic [Drakes] not much to defend in the last over and myself and Cottrell picked up important wickets and didn't allow partnerships to build. In the last over, it was just about reassuring him about what he wanted to do."