Victor Barrack (right) of Kensington celebrates hitting the winning four to carry Kensington to victory over St Thomas in the Red Stripe Twenty/20 match at Up Park Camp on Saturday. Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Kingston and St Andrew Titans pulled off a major upset as the first-ever national Red Stripe Twenty20 Championship bowled off at the weekend, recording a three-run win over Police Hammers in their first-round knockout clash at Up Park Camp.

Sent to bat on a flat track, the Titans, who are traditional beaten sticks for the nation's top cricket clubs, first raced to a challenging 178-9 off their allotted 20 overs before returning to dismiss the lawmen for 175 in Sunday's first game.

The Titans' outstanding performance was first led by middle-order batsman Damion Foster, who made a 30-ball 54, inclusive of four sixes and four fours, opener Elvis Watson, who made a 20-ball 31, and veteran batsman Gary Pink, who chipped in with a less-than-run-a-ball 19.

Pulling it off

Medium pacers Kedar Brown 4-34 and Anthony Brown 3-38, and off-spinner Elvis Watson, then returned to lead the their bowling charge as the Hammers, needing 14 off the last over and four off the last ball, with one wicket in hand, failed to justify their favouritism.

"Luckily today (yesterday) as underdogs we were able to pull it off," said Pink, whose men will now turn their attention to this weekend's second-round clash at Chedwin Park against seeded team, Jamaica Masters Panthers, who will field several past Jamaica and West Indies players in their line-up.

"It was a tense moment but I tried to get the team as calm as possible and in the end it worked. We have been training vigorously for this tournament and were always confident in our ability to pull off an upset," he added.

Police captain Maurice Wonder, who had Odale Wickam, 38, and Fitzgerald Anderson, 32, to thank for bringing them close to the target, was noticeably dejected after the match and could hardly find words to express his disappointment.

"We are disappointed that we have to exit the competition at the first round as we trained hard and spent a lot of money in getting the team prepared," said Wonder.

Double-header matchup

The matchup was the first of a double-header on what was the opening weekend of the four-week competition with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Brigades scoring a 74-run win over Boys' Town Beavers in a rain-affected game. Scores JDF 132-2 off 12 overs; Boys' Town 58.

Elsewhere, Hanover Dolphins and St Ann Cutters joined Kingston and St Andrew Police and Saturday's winners, Kensington and Lucas, in the next round after registering respective 52-run and seven-wicket victories over St James Bears and St Mary Enforcers at St Ann Bauxite.

Scores: Hanover 156-8 off 20 overs (Aldane Samuels 50, Jermaine Blackwood 41; Jamar Chin 2-17, Samuel Evans 2-21); St James 104 off 16.33 (Chin 35, Omar Roman 21; Hugh Blackwood 2-14, Samuels 2-30).

St Mary 88 off 17.5 (John Campbell 24; Gifton Reid 3-31, Alonzo Harris 3-13); St Ann 89-3 off 12.5 overs.