Cpl

In Tuesday’s semi-final, the unbeaten Tridents continued their sensational run after brushing aside the Jamaica Tallawahs in a nine-wicket win.  The victory marked a 10^th in a row for the Tridents and just one more will see the team create history by being the first to claim the trophy without losing a match.

The Knights Riders would, however, do well to learn from history’s lessons.  Just one season ago the Guyana Amazon Warriors, who have never lifted the title, experienced unthinkable heartbreak after losing to the Barbados Tridents in the final.  Pollard will be eager to avoid a similar fate and on home soil no less.

“We have come here and played fantastic cricket throughout the tournament so we need to have that cherry on top of it,” Pollard said following the match.

“I know the guys.  I watch the faces of the guys in the dressing room, I don’t see overconfidence.  You are seeing guys looking level, wanting to come out, and wanting to perform each and every time.  We have that hunger for one more time, hopefully we can go all the way.  If we do that it will be unprecedented.”

Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard had enough faith in his opening bowlers to start with himself at short leg, and Akeal Hosein repaid that faith by bowling Jermaine Blackwood. The Tallawahs sprung a surprise sending Mujeeb Ur Rahman in at number three, who just about played out a wicket-maiden.

The Tallawahs were rocked further when Glenn Phillips cut Khary Pierre to Ali Khan. Nkrumah Bonner finally hit the game’s first boundary, easing Hosein through cover, but the Mujeeb experiment failed as he edged a reverse sweep onto his pad and was caught at slip, and the Tallawahs had slumped to 10 for 3 off three overs.

Five wides from Pierre and a straight four by Bonner more than doubled the Tallawahs tally, but while Asif Ali got off the mark with a four-over Hosein’s head, he fell next ball cutting to Pollard at point. Pollard immediately went back into short leg and kept himself there for the returning Sunil Narine who went for just three to close out a dominant Powerplay for the Knight Riders, after which the Tallawahs were reeling at 28 for 4.

Bonner continued to resist - he cut Fawad Ahmed powerfully for four, a misfield gave him another off Narine to take him to 30, and he pulled Fawad to take the Tallawahs past 50. Pierre returned with a tight over that went for just three, and at the 10 over mark, the Tallawahs were 55 for 4.

Hosein bowled out with an over of just five, and Fawad ended Bonner’s resistance with a quick googly. That finally brought Andre Russell to the crease, but Narine put an end to his innings before it got going. Russell was beaten in the flight, the ball looped to DJ Bravo at slip and the umpire adjudged it came off bat and pad. The Tallawahs had lost their biggest weapon and were 68 for 6 in the 14th.

Three more boundary-less overs came and went. Rovman Powell had now faced 32 balls for his 26 runs, Carlos Brathwaite had managed only one off his 10 balls, and something had to give off Pierre’s last over. Powell hit one Hero Maximum, the first of the innings, but picked out Pollard at deep mid-off trying to repeat the shot next ball. Even with that six, he finished under a run a ball, and the Tallawahs were 92 for 7 off 18.

Brathwaite was lucky not to be run out first ball of the 19th, bowled by DJ Bravo whose three overs didn’t contain a single boundary. Ali Khan got the unusual job of bowling only the 20th over, and while Brathwaite finished the innings with a Hero Maximum that was only the third boundary in the last 11 overs of the innings.

Lendl Simmons steered then pulled Fidel Edwards for consecutive fours to end the first over, but Narine wasn’t able to provide his usual powerful start, bowled by Mujeeb’s arm ball. Powell followed Pollard’s aggressive lead by putting himself at short leg, but Tion Webster was not intimidated, slapping Veerasammy Permaul through cover then slicing him for four to ruin a tight start to the over. After three overs, the Knight Riders were 23/1.

Webster was confident enough to cut Mujeeb’s googly for four, and with wickets, a must Powell for the first time in Hero CPL 2020 went to Sandeep Lamichhane in the Powerplay. Simmons paddled him for four first ball and then pulled Mujeeb to the fence, and the Knight Riders closed the Powerplay at 42/1. The required run rate was already under five an over.

Simmons marred a good over from Lamichhane with a slog-swept Hero Maximum, bringing up the Knight Riders’ 50. Simmons and Webster were able to work Lamichhane around as no-one had all tournament, and though Permaul’s second went for just two and his third was a maiden, at halfway the Knight Riders were comfortable at 61/1, needing just 47 more to win.

Russell was called on to bowl, but Simmons pulled him for a Hero Maximum and, when Russell bowled a second short ball which was called a no-ball, helicoptered the free hit for four. Permaul bowled out with another economical over, but Simmons again pulled Russell for six to take 10 off the 13th over. The Knight Riders were now 90/1 and needed just 18 more.

Webster guided Lamichhane through cover for four to end the Nepali’s only wicketless spell of an excellent tournament, and Simmons became the leading 50-maker in the tournament’s history, overtaking Chris Gayle with a cover drive for four off Brathwaite, and Webster finished the job that same over.

Simmons needs just three more runs in Thursday’s final to overtake Gayle as Hero CPL’s all-time leading scorer. Much more importantly though, the Knight Riders have a chance to do what last year’s Guyana Amazon Warriors could not, and in doing so win a fourth Hero CPL title. The victors in the second semi will have a mighty task to deny them.

Trinbago Knight Riders 111/1 (Simmons 54*, Webster 44*; Mujeeb 1/18) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 107/7 (Bonner 41, Powell 33; Hosein 3/14, Pierre 2/29, Narine 1/13, Fawad 1/29) by 9 wickets

The Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to bat, a cautious start saw them score 66 runs in the first 10 overs, but captain Shimron Hetmyer produced tantalising innings, scoring 46 off just 21 balls, to take his side to 162-6 at the end of the innings.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in turn lost frequent wickets throughout their chase, with the Warriors stifling them at regular intervals. However, a remarkable display of power-hitting from Dwaine Pretorius saw the side score 22 runs in the final over and earn a first win in this year’s CPL season with two balls remaining. 

Guyana Amazon Warriors were frustrated early on by some excellent bowling by Sheldon Cottrell and Duan Jansen, who claimed the early wicket of Paul Stirling. Chandrapual Hemraj played a patient innings to build a platform, scoring 43 runs, before Hetmyer displayed some attacking intent, scoring at a strike rate of 219, to take his side to 162-6.  

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots followed a similar pattern, taking a patient approach to the start of their chase after losing the valuable wicket of Evin Lewis in the second over. Andre Fletcher went on to score 41 runs for the Patriots before his dismissal but the wickets of both Dwayne Bravo and Darren Bravo in the 16th over had seemingly ended the Patriots' chances of a win, before Jansen and Pretorius combined in the final overs with a 55-run partnership to guide the side to a remarkable win. 

 This was the Patriots first win of the season, while Guyana Amazon Warriors remain winless after three games. 

Choosing to bowl, the Tridents started well - the first boundary didn’t come until the third over, and Narine didn’t get off the mark until the fifth. Simmons hit the next ball for a Hero Maximum and then clubbed Jason Holder to mid-on. It took Colin Munro to kickstart the innings, taking 18 off Kyle Mayers, including a glorious flick over mid-on for six, and the Knight Riders ended the Powerplay at 45 for 1.

Ashley Nurse put the pressure back on, but Munro counter-attacked against Rashid Khan, clobbering a sweep into the stands. Narine, at the other end, should have fallen to Nurse on 6 but was dropped by Shai Hope. The drop was not costly, however, as Reifer dramatically splattered Narine’s stumps to end a stuttering inning.

At the drinks break, the Knight Riders were a subdued 63 for 2. Munro brought up 50 off just 29 balls, then fell to a fantastic Rashid catch to give Nurse a deserved wicket off the last ball of his spell. But that was as good as it got for the Tridents with the ball.

Rashid lost his line to the left-handed Bravo, going for 12 including a set of five wides. Hayden Walsh Jr started with two full tosses, and while Pollard was almost bowled by the first one, he dismissed the second for a Hero Maximum. Bravo punished Rashid for going too full with a slog-swept six.

Mitchell Santner couldn’t contain Bravo, who clubbed 10 off the first two balls of the over, or Pollard, who hit an extraordinary one-handed Hero Maximum over the sightscreen. Pollard repeated the trick to end a Reifer over that started with Bravo hammering a full toss for six, and, suddenly the Knight Riders were 155 for 3 off 18.

Holder proved expensive in the 19th, with 3 wides punctuating Pollard hammering a Hero Maximum and Bravo essaying a classy lofted drive. In the 20th, Bravo found and then cleared the midwicket fence to take himself to 50, and the Knight Riders to an imposing total. The last four overs went at a bruising 17.25 an over, and the Tridents were left wondering if they’d got their bowling strategies right.

The Tridents had to go hard and Johnson Charles did exactly that, targeting Jayden Seales to the tune of 20 runs to start the chase in overdrive. It was a measure of how concerned Pollard was that he went to DJ Bravo in the Powerplay.

It was a dramatic over - brother Darren dropped Charles off the first ball, ensuring the wait for a 500th T20 wicket for DJ went on, and the Tridents opener rubbed it in with two boundaries. Hope was very much the support act, ending the Powerplay at 9 off 11 to Charles’ 46 off 25. Remarkably, those 46 came entirely between long leg and midwicket.

But Narine, Ali Khan, and Fawad Ahmed slowed scoring significantly, and the pressure told as Charles lost his off-stump to Fawad just after reaching his 50. Corey Anderson’s horror start to Hero CPL 2020 continued as he was run out by Seales for 2, and after a promising start, the Tridents were falling away.
Bravo pulled off a good low catch to dismiss Mayers off Khary Pierre. Hope picked up a four off Pierre and a massive Hero Maximum off Fawad, but the leg spinner responded well to limit the damage and send the rate above 12.

Lewis played a starring role when he slammed 89 from just 60 balls but fell just short leading the team home when he fell in the middle of the 18^th over.  Nonetheless, Ben Dunk was able to take the team home with an expedient 22 from 11, including two big sixes off Nyeem Young when the team needed 13 runs off the last over to win.  In their turn at the crease the Tridents made 151 for 7.

“We needed this win and we went out there and backed our skills.  I got a good start for the team it’s bad luck I didn’t carry it down to the end but I’m still thankful for it and thankful for the victory,” Lewis said following the match.

“They were very important, we had a shaky start, we lost our first three games.  Hopefully this victory will give us some momentum for the rest of the competition,” he added.

Prior to the match, the Patriots found themselves on the losing end against the Tridents, St Lucia Zouks and Guyana Amazon Warriors.

On Sunday, the 30-year-old managed just 19 for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a lopsided 49-run loss to the St Lucia Kings but despite the defeat, there was a positive side.  Lewis's two sixes in the innings moved him level and then one clear of legendary T20 star Chris Gayle.

Gayle has remained at the top of the six-hitting leader board for some time on 172 from 85 matches.  Lewis's new high of 173 has come in 86 matches.  Kieron Pollard is in third place on 152.

Lewis, who was recently named to the West Indies World Cup squad, has long listed the big Jamaican as the player he idolized the most over the years.  Gayle arguably the most dominant batsman to ever play the format leads many of the boundary-hitting statistics, including the most sixes with 1056.

The Royals won the toss and opted to bat, with Azam Khan’s fluent 50 off just 30 balls taking them to 151 for 8. 

However, the Jamaica Tallawahs were able to chase the target in 17.4 overs through the sublime batting of Kennar Lewis, his innings of 89 the highest score of the tournament so far, supported by the graceful play of Sharmarh Brooks, who hit 47 not out off 26 balls. 

Barbados Royals had found themselves in early trouble, losing key batsmen Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers in successive balls in the Powerplay to Fidel Edwards, who was making his first appearance in this year’s Hero CPL. 
A recovery mission was led by Azam and Phillips; the pair putting on a partnership of 71 runs off 51 balls to build a foundation for the innings. Joshua Bishop then struck 18 off 8 balls at the back end of the innings to take his side to a respectable total. 

Migael Pretorius was the standout bowler for the Tallawahs, taking four wickets, while Rovman Powell led by example with three excellent catches in the field.  

Tallawahs response was led by Lewis, who powered the innings despite his team losing early wickets to the spin of Joshua Bishop, including captain Powell, who was dismissed by a superb piece of fielding as Jason Holder held on to his shot with one hand at long-off.  

Barbados Royals will count themselves unlucky as star bowler Mohammad Amir had to leave the field injured during the second innings. The win takes the Jamaica Tallawahs up to second in the Hero CPL standings.

The Patriots won the toss and chose to field first. Despite a bright start from the Amazon Warrior’s openers, wickets tumbled in the middle overs before a late burst from Shimron Hetmyer took his side to a substantial 178/9. 

In their chase, the Patriots once again opted to open with Chris Gayle, and he laid the platform for a successful chase, lashing the ball into the stands on numerous occasions before Evin Lewis then took over to guide his side to a crushing victory. 

The Warriors consolidated after losing Brandon King in the fourth over of their innings, with Chandrapaul Hemraj and Shoaib Malik patiently building. However, three wickets in three successive overs, including that of captain Nicholas Pooran, saw the side collapse, reaching 131-8 at one point. Spinners Jon-Russ Jaggesar and Fawad Ahmed were exceptional for the Patriots during this period. It was left to Shimron Hetmyer to salvage the innings and he did so in spectacular style, scoring 45 runs from 20 balls, including a remarkable 25 runs from the last over of the innings. 

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in turn reached their highest powerplay score of this year’s Hero CPL, Gayle, and Lewis bringing up 68-0 after the first six overs. Gayle was in destructive form, scoring 42 from 27 balls, and after he fell to youngster Kevin Sinclair, it was Lewis who took responsibility to lead the chase. Supported by captain DJ Bravo, who promoted himself to number three, Lewis blasted 77* off just 39 balls as the Patriots won with thirteen balls to spare. 

With this win, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will now go on to meet the Saint Lucia Kings in Wednesday’s Hero CPL final, with one side set to win their maiden title. 

Known to not miss an opportunity to give customers more, Digicel and SportsMax hosted a stream-to-win competition giving every customer who purchased a Digicel Prime Bundle and streamed the CPL T20 games live from August 31 to September 16, a chance to win a trip to the finals.

The user from each participating market with the most time spent in-app during this period won the chance to catch the biggest party in sport, up close and personal.

Dennis Henry from Jamaica, Allan Sirjoo from Trinidad & Tobago, Carlton Alwin John from Guyana, Havie Stephen from St. Lucia and Kalia Huggins from St. Kitts & Nevis all emerged winners.

“It’s been an exciting CPL 2022 season! We are happy that the Jamaica Tallawahs came out on top to secure their third CPL title, bringing the trophy home to Jamaica,” said Tari Lovell, Head of Marketing, Digital Services, at Digicel Group.

“Thanks to the SportsMax app, I haven’t missed a moment of the action and I know our winners feel the same way too. I just want to congratulate them once more and thank them for choosing Digicel and SportsMax.”

This year the Barbados Royals, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Saint Lucia Kings, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs and Trinbago Knight Riders all went head to head to battle for the coveted CPL T20 title.

Cricket fans were able to stream live matches all season long on the SportsMax app using their superfast Digicel LTE prime data bundles, or on the SportsMax channels on Digicel+.

 The Massy WCPL had a 45% rise in viewership in 2023, with a huge increase in the number of fans tuning in around the world for the second season of the event.

 The seven-match tournament concluded with the Barbados Royals beating the Guyana Amazon Warriors to claim the title, with the final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy being the most watched match.

 The tournament saw some amazing performances with New Zealand’s Sophie Devine finishing as the leading run scorer and breakout Indian star Shreyanka Patil claiming the most wickets. West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews was the player of the final with a brilliant 82 runs and two wickets as the Barbados Royals emerged victorious.

 Pete Russell, CPL’s CEO, said: “We are delighted with the viewing figures in 2023 as global interest in the women’s game continues to grow. The second edition of the WCPL surpassed all expectations in terms of interest and the quality of cricket and we are already looking forward to the 2024 event which we are certain will be even more successful.”

Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies, said: “The growth in the interest and opportunities in women’s cricket in the Caribbean in recent years has been incredible and Cricket West Indies are very pleased with the impact WCPL has had on giving opportunities to our players to further develop their skills. To see the WCPL already showing such fantastic growth in year two is very pleasing and we are looking forward to seeing the tournament go from strength to strength in 2024 and beyond.”

All had looked lost after Mujeeb ur Rahman and Sandeep Lamichhane had worked their magic, but Mayers smashed 29 off a Carlos Brathwaite over that proved absolutely pivotal.

Mujeeb did for both Tridents openers - an off-break turned big to trap Shai Hope LBW and a carrom ball to Johnson Charles took the edge for Tallawahs skipper Rovman Powell to take a good catch at slip.

Veerasammy Permaul, replacing Russell, started well until Kyle Mayers lofted him for six over extra cover. Mayers repeated the trick off Edwards and the Tridents reached the Powerplay at 37/2.

Holder lifted Permaul onto the rope at long-on, and Mayers took a liking to Powell in an over that went for 17. Brathwaite didn’t escape punishment as Mayers timed him over point, bringing up a 50 partnership off just 29 balls. Powell went to Lamichhane, whose googlies restricted Mayers and Holder to three off the 10th over.

At halfway, the Tridents were 79/2.

Twenty balls later, that was 90/6. Brathwaite bounced out Holder, Rashid Khan’s promotion lasted two balls as he sliced a Lamichhane leg-break to backward point, Mujeeb skidded a carrom ball onto Corey Anderson’s stumps and Lamichhane beat Ashley Nurse’s slog-sweep with a googly.

Mujeeb could have had Mayers had a close LBW shout been given or had Glenn Phillips held a catch, but with the Afghan and Nepalese combining for 5/30, little did we know how crucial that would prove.

Brathwaite disappeared to all parts as Mayers launched four Hero Maximums, and even good death bowling saw the Tridents end on a competitive looking total.

Santner started superbly, bowling Phillips as part of a wicket-maiden. Chadwick Walton flayed Holder for four and pulled him for a Hero Maximum, but the Tridents captain nicked him off with a Test match-style seaming beauty. Santner followed up with another fine over, and the Tallawahs were 13/2 after three.

Walsh Jr went for just three runs, all due to misfields including a dropped catch. Blackwood’s first boundary was a thick inside edge off Holder, and the captain’s extra bounce did for his opposite number Rovman Powell who gloved to the keeper.

At 22/3 off 5 overs, the Tallawahs were precariously placed, and that was before Rashid Khan came on for the last over of the Powerplay. The required run rate was now approaching nine an over.

Walsh Jr spilled a tough caught-and-bowled off Blackwood, but finally got his first wicket of Hero CPL 2020 as Asif holed out to long-off to plunge the Tallawahs into even deeper strife. The leg-spinner celebrated his first wicket of this CPL season with a huge roar of delight.

Ashley Nurse went for just five off two overs, and Walsh Jr beat Blackwood on both edges to leave the Tallawahs 36/4 needing 11 an over off the last 10 with three overs of Rashid still to face. In a familiar tale, the Tallawahs had failed to score off 44 of the first 60 balls.

Things seemed to be picking up after the break. Bonner pulled Walsh Jr for the first boundary in 37 balls, Blackwood joined with a Hero Maximum to put a slight dent in Walsh Jr’s figures, and the two scored off every ball of Rashid’s second over including a boundary.

But Santner’s return did the trick. Blackwood hit one big Hero Maximum over the sightscreen, but a slower ball deceived him into holing out to long-on. Rashid capped a horrible night for Brathwaite, pinning him LBW with a fast googly, and after a mini-recovery the Tallawahs were 68/6 off 14 and needed 13.5 an over.

Santner finished a brilliant spell - 20 off his 24 balls were dot balls and a Hero Maximum was his only boundary conceded. Bonner hammered Raymon Reifer for a Hero Maximum, but Permaul took nine balls to get off the mark, and with the Tallawahs needing 17.25 an over, Bonner took it upon himself to farm the strike.

Rashid ended the Tallawahs’ last faint hope, as Bonner tried to pull an unpullable ball and Anderson held the top-edge. Mujeeb deposited his countryman for a pair of Hero Maximums, but even so the required run rate at the end of the over was higher than when it started.

Mujeeb continued his fun with a reverse hook off Nyeem Young, but the youngster made a contribution taking an excellent catch diving forward at deep point to give Reifer the wicket of the scratchy Permaul.

Reifer made it two when Mujeeb tried to reverse sweep a delivery on middle stump, and in the end the only thing missing for the Tridents was a wicket for Young. Russell or no Russell, the Tallawahs batters need to find some answers fast.

The Royals won the toss and elected to field first in the rain-shortened 17 overs-per-side fixture and restricted the Patriots to a respectable 149-8.

Opener Andre Fletcher was the star of the show for the hosts with a well-compiled 81 off 55 balls including 11 fours and a six. Jason Holder (2-21 from three overs) and Ramon Simmonds (2-28 from four overs) led with the ball for the Royals. Corbin Bosch was spectacular in the field with five catches, a CPL record.

The Royals then capitalized on a spectacular start from openers Rakheem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers to complete a relatively simple chase, reaching 150-3 off just 15.1 overs.

Cornwall compiled a brutal 25-ball 39 including three fours and three sixes while Mayers continued his scintillating form over the last few months with 73 from 46 balls including six fours and four sixes. Captain Dwayne Bravo took 2-33 from his four overs.

CPL action continues on Saturday with the Guyana Amazon Warriors playing the Jamaica Tallawahs before the Patriots tackle the Trinbago Knight Riders.

In truth, perhaps the Warriors, last season’s beaten finalist, will be relieved to not match the previous campaign's accomplishments, where they did not lose a match until the final of the competition.  On Tuesday, on the back of the sizzling 63 from Shimron Hetmyer and 33 from Ross Taylor saw the post a respectable 144 for 5 in a reduced 17 overs.

In defense of the total, the Warriors got off to a strong start.  Afghan pace sensation Naveen-ul-Haq, teamed with Green and Romario Shepherd combining to keep Knight Riders’ openers Narine and Lendl Simmons to just 9 off the first 3 overs.  The Knight Riders found their feet with Narine hitting Green over midwicket.

"It was going to be tough beating 11 wins in a row from last year. Was a tough game, and the first game in a long time, so. Given the start, losing two early wickets, I think Taylor and Hetmyer batted really well,” Green said.

“We thought 140 would be a good score. We spoke about holding that length, and when we went away from that, we got hurt. Plenty of room for improvement."

Following the disruptions caused by the threat of the coronavirus the exact date and details of the tournament are yet to be finalised, but Mohammed admits he is eager to get back on the pitch. And, he might as well if he is looking to make up for the disappointment of the previous campaign.

Representing the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Mohammad had his poorest showing to date. Playing in five games the player got a total of 20 and averaged four. Far from his heyday in 2016 when he scored 287 runs to lead the Guyana Amazon Warriors with an average of 47.

For the upcoming edition, the player hopes to play more to what he believes is his strength in the middle of the innings. “I think I feel most comfortable batting at number four and controlling the middle overs. I feel like that is my strength in T20 cricket,” Mohammed said in a recent interview with T&T’s 7PmNews. “I like to be able to rotate the strike and build partnerships and from there to the end finish off the innings strong.”

The Knight Riders won the toss and put the Patriots into bat and the first over of the final was full of drama with Khary Pierre picking up both Patriots’ openers with Evin Lewis and Chris Lynn dismissed going for big shots.

That left the Patriots 10-2 at the end of the first over, and that became 17-3 when Sodhi was caught in the ring off the bowling of Ali Khan.

Things didn’t improve when Nick Kelly was run out for a diamond duck to leave the Patriots innings in tatters at 18-4.

Sunil Narine kept the carnage coming when he bowled Ben Dunk for 6 and then did the same to Denesh Ramdin two balls later to leave the Patriots at 22-6.

Fawad Ahmad’s introduction into the attack only further cemented the Patriots’ woes as three more wickets fell, two of them soft run-outs as the batting team finished with 32 all out.

It was a small target but Munro was still feeling the pressure. The Patriots could have had Lendl Simmons dismissed in the first over but Chris Lynn put down a tough chance off Alzarri Joseph at mid-off.

At the other end, Narine found the boundary twice before Simmons was gone, dismissed by Imran Khan. By the end of the second over the Knight Riders were 18/1 with 16 needed from 18 balls.

Sodhi brought himself on to bowl and after a tricky start thanks to two wides, he came back well to get Narine bowled for 10.

That left the Knight Riders needing 11 from 12 and a powerful on-drive for four from Pollard seemed to swing things in his team's favour before he was yet another runout.

At the start of the last over five were needed and the Knight Riders seemed happy to get there in singles, but a wide and a no-ball from Sheldon Cottrell also helped.

It was Munro who hit the winning runs, cover driving for two to win the game by seven wickets with one ball to spare in a thrilling last-over finish to seal the first-ever CPL Esports title.

After Zouks’ captain Daren Sammy put them in, the Patriots had yet to score when Nabi dismissed both Chris Lynn and Nick Kelly. Lynn continued his run of being dismissed by spinners, pushing a simple catch back to the bowler, and Kelly edged to the safe hands of Rakheem Cornwall at slip.

Nabi soon made it four. Denesh Ramdin sought to follow a Hero Maximum over long-on with one over square leg but top-edged to Najibullah Zadran, and next ball Patriots leading scorer of Hero CPL 2020, Evin Lewis, spooned a sweep to Roston Chase at square leg to leave the Patriots 11/4 off just 3 overs and Nabi on a hat-trick.

Chase’s introduction with the ball was not a surprise, and he went for just three off his first over. Jahmar Hamilton just about survived the hat-trick ball, but he and Ben Dunk managed no further boundaries as the Patriots reached the Powerplay at 22/4.

Another tight over came and went, this time from Zahir Khan. Dunk finally broke the drought as Chase overpitched, sending the off-spinner high over the sightscreen. Oddly, after eight overs the Patriots had hit two Hero Maximums but no fours.

That block-block-slog approach brought Hamilton’s downfall, as he prodded at a Zahir googly and edged behind. Cornwall closed out the first half of the innings well, and at drinks, the Patriots were 43/5 with a lot resting on Dunk once more.

Dunk hit Zahir straight for a third Hero Maximum but should have been stumped in the same over. After 13 overs, Dunk had 32 of the Patriots’ 59/5, and the pressure on him finally told as Cornwall’s extra bounce saw the Australian splice a pull to deep midwicket.

 Even a Mark Deyal full toss didn’t result in the match’s first four. After 15 overs the Patriots were 66/6, and it got worse as Nabi returned to complete his five-for - remarkably, the first of his 10-year and 264-game T20 career - as Tanvir scooped a sweep to Zahir at short fine-leg.

Kesrick Williams came on for the 18th, off which captain Rayad Emrit took for 14 including, at long last, a four. Emrit fell next over, Deyal taking a running catch at long-on, but Kuggeleijn dropped short off his last ball and Alzarri Joseph sent him into the stands. Imran Khan sacrificed himself to get Joseph on strike, and the Antiguan responded with a second Hero Maximum. 37 off the last 3 overs, all bowled by seam, only delayed the inevitable.

The Patriots surprisingly started with seamer Tanvir, who Cornwall hammered for two fours and two towering Hero Maximums. Emrit gave Jon-Russ Jaggesar an aggressive field, but Jaggesar’s first ball was poor and Fletcher cut it easily for four. Cornwall smashed Imran clean over the roof, and while he was bowled two balls later, the fact that he alone hit more fours and almost as many boundaries than the entire Patriots team told the story.

After a brief shower, the Zouks resumed needing just 81 at well under 5 an over, which made Deyal’s hoick the first ball all the stranger. Emrit took a good catch to leave Imran on a hat-trick, which the ever-calm Chase denied him comfortably.

With Cornwall having taken the pressure off, the Zouks found strike rotation easy, and that relaxed feel gave Fletcher confidence to smash Jaggesar into the top of the Carib stand to end the Powerplay at 47/2. The opener’s dismissal was a surprise when it came with a pull straight to midwicket, giving Imran a third wicket.

Najibullah reverse-swept two fours and good running meant Imran’s last over went for seven. Emrit brought himself on, but Chase and Najibullah took him four a boundary apiece, and the Zouks cruised to 79/3 at halfway.

A desperate Emrit turned to Dunk’s part-time off-spin - so part-time Dunk bowled in his sunhat - which Najibullah smashed for four as the over went for eight. Najibullah dished out further punishment in Dunk’s next over, lifting him for a Hero Maximum over long-off, but Dunk got a small measure of joy as the Afghan top-edged to deep midwicket.

It was Dunk’s first Hero CPL wicket, just the third of his T20 career, but it was scant consolation as the Zouks sealed the victory with 32 balls to spare without even needing Nabi to bat.

Summary: (St Lucia Zouks 111/4 (Najibullah 33, Chase 27*, Cornwall 26; Imran 3/23, Dunk 1/29) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 110/9 (Dunk 33, Joseph 21*, Emrit 16; Nabi 5/15, Cornwall 1/14, Zahir 1/18) by 6 wickets)

 Upcoming Fixture: Thursday 27 August - Match 16: Guyana Amazon Warriors v Trinbago Knight Riders (5:30 pm), 4:30 pm Jamaica time  at the Queen’s Park Oval

On Thursday, Nabi helped the St Lucia Zouks earn their first points of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) after a 7-wicket Duckworth Lewis victory over defending champions Barbados Tridents earlier today.

Nabi first bagged 1-19 from four overs before slamming 15 off six deliveries to earn the man-of-the-match title in a significantly rain-affected game.

After restricting the Tridents to 131-7 from 18.1 overs, the Zouks benefitted from a long rain delay and only needed 47 from five overs, inclusive of two power plays.

Nabi helped the run chase along with some smart running, a big six and a smashing four.

“I don’t like interviews but because we won the game and I performed for my team, this one I like,” said Nabi during an interview with the CPL’s Alex Jordan.

Speaking about his cameo, Nabi said players like himself like having a short burst because it represents freedom to just go hard. He was also delighted to be up against teammate, Rashid Khan.

“We play for the same team most of the time, on national duties and we play on the same IPL team, so I know how Rashid will bowl to me. In the end he got me out as well though,” he said.

But when the Zouks bowled, Nabi said there was improvement after the close defeat they had against the Jamaica Tallawahs.

“This game we bowled brilliantly. It is a good start to the tournament and let’s see for our upcoming matches,” said Nabi.

Ali Khan and Jayden Seales started superbly after Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard put the Tallawahs in. Walton spliced Ali Khan to square leg and Kirton was trapped in front by Seales.

Glenn Phillips and Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell both hit their first ball for Hero Maximums, but a flamboyant DJ Bravo catch gave Ali Khan the wicket of Powell. Asif Ali coming to the crease in the third over could not have been part of the Tallawahs’ Plan A.

A mini-recovery ensued as Phillips took Seales for a pair of boundaries, and Asif welcomed Khary Pierre to Hero CPL 2020 with an enormous straight-six. Narine bamboozled Asif five balls straight but found himself hammered into the stands for a magnificent Powerplay-closing Hero Maximum.

Narine had his revenge, bowling Asif with a deceptive quicker ball. The Tallawahs crawled to 63/4 at halfway, and it got worse when a Fawad googly completely deceived Brathwaite. The leg-spinner’s first two overs tonight contained a remarkable 11 dot balls.

Phillips broke the spell off Fawad to come out of his post-Powerplay slump and reach 50 off 34 balls. The Tallawahs were careful to see off Narine, but at 90/5 with six overs to come, the acceleration had to come at some point, and once Phillips fell trying to whip Seales over deep square leg the onus was all on Russell.

Ali Khan delivered a near-perfect over, closing by nearly holding a spectacular return catch off a ferocious drive from Ramaal Lewis, who came into the Tallawahs XI for Veerasammy Permaul. In truth the American was lucky to escape with his teeth intact.

Thanks to a fine diving catch at mid-off from Colin Munro, a restless Russell fell having faced a good number of deliveries for under a run a ball for the second game running. Remarkably, he is yet hit a six in this year’s Hero CPL.

The final over saw Fidel Edwards, into the team for Oshane Thomas for his first Hero CPL game since 2015, run out as he sacrificed himself to save Lewis, but the all-rounder couldn’t manage a boundary. Ali Khan and Dwayne Bravo’s death bowling was outstanding, and the Tallawahs total felt sub-par.

Edwards and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman troubled the top order, with Lendl Simmons losing his shape off the paceman and gifting a catch to mid-off. After 4 overs the Tallawahs had Trinbago nerves jangling, but Narine’s eyes lit up when inexperienced off-spinner Lewis came into the attack.

Fourteen runs came off the over.

Munro and Narine both drove Russell for four through cover, and 38/1 off the Powerplay meant things were much calmer in the Knight Riders dugout.

Narine has built his reputation as a hitter of spin, but he was severe on the pace of Russell, with the highlight an impudent inside-out four on one leg. He brought up a 35-ball 50 off the last ball of the 10th over, at which point the Knight Riders needed just 71 off 60 with nine wickets in hand.

Munro’s was a curious innings - he managed just 16 off his first 24 balls, but 14 of them were boundaries, and it wasn’t until the 17th over that he breached a run a ball. This all-or-nothing approach was a feature of the chase, and the Knight Riders will want to address their high dot-ball percentage as they move through the tournament.

Mujeeb was excellent, and deserves huge credit for holding a skied return catch off Darren Bravo despite keeper Phillips nearly taking him out with a full-length dive. But Narine’s belligerence and Munro’s anchor role meant that, although the Tallawahs will rue a few missed opportunities, the Knight Riders always had the chase firmly under control.

The sense of ease was underlined when Pollard had time to block out an Edwards over in an ultimately vain attempt to steer Munro to 50, and the Knight Riders go into the weekend sitting pretty atop the standings.

In large part, that failure, scoring 60 off the last four overs, was down to the bowling of Naveen-ul-Haq, who bowled the penultimate over to Russell.

At the start of the 19^th over, the Tallawahs were 87-7, needing a further 32 runs from the 12 deliveries to come.

The first delivery of Naveen’s over was muscled over deep midwicket for Russell’s fourth six of the innings. The second delivery from Naveen was full outside off stump and a thick outside edge saw it rush to the third man boundary. Russell had taken 10 runs off the first two deliveries, having already taken 17 from Imran Tahir the over before that and 11 from Keemo Paul’s 17^th over.

But Naveen, apparently, is made of sterner stuff and produced four dot balls to leave the Tallawahs with 22 to get from six and Russell at the non-striker’s end.

“It was difficult to bat on that pitch. The first ball I saw was sticking and turning a lot, so I knew that if we put up 120 or thereabouts, it’s gonna be a tough chase for them,” said Naveen of the 118-run total the Warriors had just defended, the lowest in CPL history.

Speaking with CPL’s Alex Jordan, Naveen went on to explain that he was fearful of bowling that 19^th over to a man known to be among the most destructive batsmen in the world.

Naveen would end with figures of 1-22 from his four overs.

“He is quite an explosive player and everybody knows this. I am cherishing this moment. It was quite lucky that I got that over. I was happy to come at the main stage and do well for my team. I got the chance and I did well,” he said.  

Pooran’s record-breaking moment came when he struck the sixth of his nine sixes during a blistering 43-ball 97 against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, taking his tally to 139 sixes in 2024. This incredible achievement surpassed the previous record of 135 sixes set by Chris Gayle in 2015.

Pooran’s six-hitting spree in 2024 has been nothing short of extraordinary. He has hit 139 sixes off 1145 balls, averaging a six every 8.23 deliveries. While Gayle had a slightly better rate of 7.50 balls per six in 2015, Pooran's consistency over 57 innings—compared to Gayle’s 36—highlights the sustained nature of his power-hitting.

A deeper dive into Pooran's numbers reveals his dominance, especially against pace. Out of his 139 sixes, 92 came against fast bowlers, setting a new record for the most sixes against pace in a calendar year. This is significantly higher than Gayle’s 68 sixes against pacers in 2015. Pooran has averaged a six every 8.65 balls against seamers, while spinners have fared slightly worse, with Pooran sending one over the ropes every 7.43 deliveries.

Pooran has also excelled across different phases of the innings. He smashed 79 sixes during the middle overs (7th to 16th), breaking yet another record previously held by Gayle, who hit 71 sixes in that phase in 2012. Additionally, Pooran hit 32 sixes at the death, averaging a six every 6.22 balls, and 28 in the powerplay, at a rate of 8.14 balls per six.

The 2024 season saw Pooran distribute his sixes across multiple tournaments. He hit the most in the IPL, with 36 sixes, followed by 34 in T20 Internationals, 31 in the ILT20, and 19 in The Hundred. Pooran’s consistency across these formats and leagues underscores his status as one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket.

Four bowlers were particularly tormented by Pooran’s power-hitting, with each conceding four sixes to him in 2024: Dominic Drakes, Nandre Burger, Rashid Khan, and Sikandar Raza.

With 551 sixes in T20 cricket, Pooran now stands as the fourth-highest six-hitter in the format, trailing only his fellow West Indians Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell. Pooran’s remarkable feat in 2024 not only solidifies his place among the game's greats but also further cements the Caribbean’s legacy in T20 cricket.