Narine’s first fifty in more than two years ended TKR’s three-match losing run
Sunil Narine conceded one run in the first over of the night, then opened the batting and hit 55 off 33 balls. Trinbago Knight Riders beat Barbados Tridents by seven wickets with 31 balls to spare.
Aug 29, 2026
Trinbago Knight Riders turned up at Queen’s Park Oval having lost three in a row, down in the bottom two of a seven-team table with the games running out. Sunil Narine sorted it out at both ends of the night, and the last time he had passed fifty in a T20 was more than two years ago.
Four spinners bowled 15 of the 20 overs
TKR won the toss, chose to field, and then handed three-quarters of the Barbados Tridents innings to spin. Narine took 2 for 14 from his four overs and 16 of his 24 deliveries were dots. Usman Tariq was tighter still at 1 for 11. Akeal Hosein and Jyd Goolie took one apiece. The seam option that mattered was Kieron Pollard, whose medium pace brought 2 for 19 from three overs.
The Tridents never worked out how to get away. Four of their top five faced at least 10 balls and stayed below a run a ball. Zachary Carter top-scored with 28 off 27 and that was the quickest of the lot. Late impetus came from captain Chris Green, who hit two sixes in a 17-ball 27 batting at No. 6, and from Rivaldo Clarke, who found three fours in the closing overs to finish 15 not out off seven. That is how a struggling innings still reached 127 for 9.
96 in 9.3 overs, and six sixes
Narine has been moved back to the top of the order and the evidence is stacking up in favour of the decision. He made 25 off 14 against St Lucia Kings in TKR’s previous game, a match they lost by 36 runs. Here he went a lot further. He reached 50 off 28 balls, with six sixes and a single four, and his opening stand with Colin Munro was worth 96 in 9.3 overs.
Munro’s contribution was 37 off 26. By the time Narine fell in the 11th over, TKR needed 26 from 55 balls, which in a T20 chase is not really a contest any more. Nicholas Pooran made 12, Pollard finished 12 not out, and Goolie was unbeaten on 6 when the runs were knocked off in 14.5 overs.
The run-in does not get any easier
Four points from five games leaves TKR fifth, with a net run rate of minus 0.007, close enough to level that a single good night would flip it. St Lucia Kings and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons lead the table on eight points from seven games each. Guyana Amazon Warriors have won all three they have played and hold games in hand on everybody.
TKR’s next three matches come against Jamaica Kingsmen, the Amazon Warriors and the Falcons. All three of those sides are above them, and the Warriors arrive with a net run rate approaching plus three. Ending the losing run was the easy part. The schedule is the problem now, and Narine batting like this for another few weeks looks closer to a requirement than a bonus.