Motie, Hope and Pretorius combine to keep Royals winless

Van der Dussen, unfortunately, could never quite speed up, finishing with a 37-ball 45, but Powell did, smashing an unbeaten 28-ball 50 with six sixes, which pushed Royals to a competitive 165. Gudakesh Motie, with the wickets of Alleyne and Bosch, was the standout Amazon Warriors bowler, returning 2 for 16 from his four overs.Amazon Warriors’ chase started terribly, raising fears of a third successive loss, as they slid to 30 for 4 inside the fifth over. Ben McDermott, Moeen Ali, Shimron Hetmyer and Hassan Khan were all gone, Bosch and Ramon Simmonds picking up two wickets apiece at the start.But that’s where Royals’ fight ended. Hope, who had opened the innings, was still there, and Pretorius joined ranks with him from No. 6, and the two put on an 89-run stand in 60 balls amid the rain – which was a near-constant presence – to put Amazon Warriors on top.They were separated when Pretorius fell for a 34-ball 53 to Chris Green, and the target was still some distance away with the scoreboard reading 119 for 5. Hope and Quentin Sampson ensured that there were no further hiccups, getting to the target with a six and with two balls remaining.