In his seventh season – and second as captain – at Guyana Amazon Warriors, Imran Tahir, now the oldest player in the CPL at 45, became the first overseas bowler to take 100 wickets in the league.
Tahir reached the milestone when he had Antigua and Barbuda Falcons’ Hassan Khan holing out to Gudakesh Motie right at the edge of the midwicket boundary in Amazon Warriors’ successful defence of 135 on a Providence turner.
Tahir cherished the landmark, saying it was a game-changing moment. When Hassan, who is adept at playing spin, holed out for 10 off 12 balls, Falcons were reduced to 41 for 3 in the eighth over and were eventually bowled out for 108.
“I think he [Motie] took a really good catch,” Tahir said after Amazon Warriors secured their spot in the playoffs. “I was quite pleased because Hassan is very dangerous and can play spin really well, so getting him out at that time was really crucial for the team. I am just glad it came off and it was a totally great effort from Motie. For me, that was the turning point to get back into the game.”
After Motie completed the catch, Tahir set off on a signature celebratory sprint and even mimicked Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siuuu’ celebration. In his next over, Tahir trapped Kofi James with another slider, for 27 off 23 balls.
It was not a popular move when Tahir, 44 then, was named captain of Amazon Warriors last season, but he led the team to their first title. Continuing as captain, Tahir faced a stumbling block this time when he was injured midway through the season, but he returned to action and marshalled Amazon Warriors into the playoffs once again.
“I just wanna be really grateful to Guyana for giving me the opportunity over the years to come and play here in this beautiful country,” he said. “Look, it’s a personal achievement [100 CPL wickets] but I hope my achievement includes whatever I’ve helped for the team and that’s what I look to do always. It’s a very good milestone and I’m very pleased.”
Tahir also credited Moeen Ali for his calculated 42 off 33 balls, which propped Amazon Warriors up to 135 for 7 from 85 for 5. While Moeen was circumspect against Chris Green’s offspin, he lined up left-arm fingerspinner Imad Wasim for an electric sequence of 4, 6, 6, 6, 0, 4 in the 19th over.
Amazon Warriors’ batters have been particularly good at acing their match-ups this season. For instance, when they met Falcons in North Sound earlier this season, Romario Shepherd played out Fabian Allen and Shamar Springer, who has quite a few slower variations in his repertoire, and instead smashed Mohammad Amir for 15 off five balls.
“We knew it was going to be difficult from the start,” Tahir said. “I think we wanted to have a better powerplay, to be honest, but I still think we were okay because we didn’t lose a lot of wickets. It’s actually totally different than last year – it’s quite tough for the batters to adjust themselves. I think Moeen played really, really well.
“Obviously, he had a chance, but then, I think, he capitalized on that all the way and he was incredible. One over changed the game. We were still thinking we could have done better but we knew 135-140 we can defend as a bowling unit.”
The Providence has been a fortress for Amazon Warriors: their win-loss ratio of 1.71 at this venue is the best among all teams at home in the CPL. While Amazon Warriors have always had a deep and varied spin attack, which suited these conditions, Tahir attributed their sustained success at home to the Guyana crowd.
“The support we get here from people,” Tahir said, “they are always here every single game and it’s sold out. As a professional sportsman, you want to play somewhere where you really enjoy and that’s what we felt over the years. I’ve been very lucky to be part of this franchise for the last seven years. It’s been incredible and that’s the only thing I can think of. The skills are there and obviously you’ve done your homework, hard work, this and that, but I think it’s the support and I just want to thank all the people in Guyana and all over [the world] where Guyanese people are. It’s incredible and we love playing here.”