PORT-OF-SPAIN:

Captain Chris Gayle said getting the wicket of the big-hitting Kieron Pollard early will be one of their targets when Jamaica Tallawahs face Barbados Tridents in the second semi-final of the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League today.

The two, who finished second and third, respectively, in the preliminary round, are set to meet at Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago, beginning at 7 p.m. Jamaica time.

"The aim is to get Pollard for another duck and put them back on the back foot as early as possible," said Gayle at the pre-match press conference.

"He is clearly their best player, their power hitter, and when he is dismissed, it lowers their confidence a bit.

"He will, therefore, be one of our targets. Obviously, they have other good players, but we know he is their main man."

Pollard, the Tridents captain, played key roles with the bat in their opening four wins of the tournament, with unbeaten knocks of 61 not out and 34 not out being his highest.

He, however, has been struggling of late, with scores of one, zero, and zero in his last three innings, and it is no surprise that his dip in form coincides with the Tridents losing all three fixtures.

Pollard apart, Tridents have in their batting line-up opener Dwayne Smith, the tournament's second-leading runs-getter; Pakistani Shoaib Malik; and Bangladeshi batting all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan.

Gayle, in the meantime, who presided over the Tallawahs getting the better of the Tridents by four wickets last Saturday at Sabina Park, said he was looking forward to his batting counterparts delivering as they have done all tournament.

Jamaica qualified for the semi-finals with a five-win and two-loss record.

"Our batsmen have been doing a fairly good job, and I expect them to continue," said Gayle.

"We may not be getting the kind of big scores that we would like, or winning as impressive as we would like, but a win is a win.

"It does not really matter how we win once we are able to do so and make it to the final and win the trophy. That is all that matters."

Danza Hyatt with not-out scores of 25, 42 and 25, and Gayle, who in his last five innings has made 28, 40, 43, 5, and 51, are set to lead the Tallawahs batting.

They are also expected to get good support from top Sri Lankan batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, and all-rounders André Russell and Vernon Philander.

The winner of the contest will face either Trinidad Red Steel or Guyana Amazon Warriors, who, at press time, were playing each other, also at the Queen's Park Oval.

The final will be played tomorrow at the same venue.