Shimron Hetmyer starred with the bat in his team's 30-run win in a T20 match at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Saturday.
Hetmyer top-scored in the match with 63 runs off just 33 balls to guide his side to a respectable total of 137/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Hetmyer smashed five sixes and four fours en route to his second fifty of the ongoing tournament.
In return, the opposition were bowled out for 107 in the 19th over with pacer Shamar Joseph picking up 3/9. Imran Tahir and Moeen Ali also chipped in two wickets each.
“Brave I guess. The only thing going through my mind was just stay positive,” Player of the Match Hetmyer spoke about his knock during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“I'm just enjoying my cricket a lot more now. The smile is coming back a lot more now. Words can't explain how great it is to play at home, knowing you have the support of everyone and it's just amazing!
“I think it was just us being brave really, in the batting, in the bowling and in the field; just forget about the past performance and go out and do our best, play exciting and brave cricket,” Hetmyer said.
Batting first, Hetmyer's side were in huge trouble losing two wickets in the first over with the score reading just one. But Hetmyer, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, counter-attacked in style and did not allow the pressure to get to the team
The southpaw smashed a six in just his second ball and went on to hit two more off Ashmead Nedd in the third over. Hetmyer had to adopt a cautious approach as he lost another partner at the other end. As a result, the Hetmyer's side managed only 26 runs in the next five overs.
Hetmyer once again signalled his intentions with a six and a boundary in the ninth over and then got to his fifty in just 26 balls. He departed for a well-made 63 out of the team's total of 83 at the time of his dismissal.
Romario Shepherd’s entertaining cameo (34 off 22 balls), which included 24 runs in the final over, gave the team a final push as they reached 137. In the end, that proved too much of an ask for the opposition as they were skittled out for 107.
Hetmyer is currently his team's highest run-getter in the ongoing T20 tournament in the Caribbean with 216 runs from six matches at an impressive average of 43.20 and a strike rate of 189.47.
