Outraged Trinbago Knight Riders fans are now claiming that the CPL Eliminator match against the Barbados Royals was sabotaged.
TKR were batting, with wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran nine runs away from a century, when faulty floodlights at the Providence Stadium in Guyana delayed the match - a break which lasted for over two hours.
By the time the problem was sorted and play resumed, TKR’s opponents were given five overs to score 60 runs using the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS).
The Royals achieved the target score for the loss of one wicket as David Miller blazed a half-century, vexing thousands of TKR fans across the Caribbean region.
Senior TKR all-rounder Andre Russell took to social media yesterday, expressing his displeasure with the result of the match.
In a post laden with expletives, he said, “Am not the person to come on the internet and voice my opinion but this year CPL I feel robbed.”
But Russell was not the only person who voiced concern about the situation on social media.
One social media user stated, “I am not sure how the Royals could feel proud of that “win”. There needs to be an investigation.”
Another social media user said, “Foul play, but Trini doh forgot, especially when it comes to cricket. Is licks for them next year and no blackout going to save them. Stay strong TKR for you are the true winners of this year’s tournament.”
Fans are also questioning the timing of the return of the lights for the match, as some argued that it seemed premeditated, ensuring the Royals a chance to fight for a win.
Social media user Joe Patel, said, “The lights suddenly came on right at the time when the cut-off was about to hit for MY team (TKR) to move into the next match?”
