- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 05/Sep 07:53

Pooran ‘satisfied’ with TKR’s home-leg performance

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain Nicholas Pooran said he is satisfied with his team’s performance across their Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) home leg, despite ending on a losing note against St Lucia Kings on September 3. TKR won four of their five matches at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, and though the Kings’ victory lifted them past TKR and to the top of the table ahead of the playoffs, Pooran believes his squad can take pride in their resilience over a demanding schedule. Batting first against Kings, TKR went all out for a dismal 109 from 18.1 overs before the St Lucia franchise romped to an emphatic seven-wicket triumph, getting to 112/3 inside 12 overs. “In hindsight you want to get the bad game out of the way, but for me, I’m really pleased,” Pooran said after the defeat. “We played five games in a really short space of time here in Trinidad. And it’s very difficult, mentally and physically. We have an aging group in our side, so I must commend the guys for being professionals both on and off the field to get themselves in position to play this game. The result didn’t go in our favour, but that’s fine. Four out of five games home (wins), we’re very pleased.” With the final preliminary round in Barbados and the knockout stage in Guyana still to come, Pooran stressed that securing a top-two finish remains TKR’s priority. That position ensures two chances at reaching the CPL final. “We want to try to get into the top two. That’s our number one priority and then we’ll take it from there,” he added. When asked if the likes of Trinidad and Tobago Legions’ Breakout T20 league title-winning captain Joshua Da Silva may get a chance to climb into the starting XI before the final round, Pooran said everyone deserves a chance to play. “We want to give everyone an opportunity on the team and we feel like in order for us to be successful, everyone needs to contribute. For us as a group and a franchise, we are big on development as well. It would be really nice to give the guys who haven’t played yet an opportunity. But our first priority is getting enough points to finish in one or two.” TKR have two more matches before the playoffs – away to Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence Stadium on September 6 and versus Barbados Royals at Kensington Oval on September 12. Meanwhile, Pooran confirmed that TKR’s impactful seamer Mohammad Amir is awaiting scan results after picking up an injury while bowling against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on September 1. Amir has been pivotal for the franchise so far, at this year’s CPL. “Hopefully we’ll know in the next couple days,” Pooran said. The post Pooran ‘satisfied’ with TKR’s home-leg performance appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.