The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to bat first and despite losing a flurry of wickets at the back end of their innings they posted an ominous 181-9.
Scoreboard pressure saw the Royals lose early wickets in the PowerPlay but they were always in sight of the required run rate in their reply. Having seemingly timed their chase to perfection, the Royals needed six runs from the final over but Gudakesh Motie held his nerve to seal a dramatic win for the Amazon Warriors.
Earlier Amazon Warriors had surprised everyone by opening with Motie and Saim Ayub and the experiment did not bear fruit as Motie fell for seven runs inside the opening nine balls.
Ayub and Hope laid a foundation following that dismissal to leave the Amazon Warriors handily placed on 83-1 at the half-way stage of the innings.
The 98-run partnership was eventually broken when Carlos Braithwaite dismissed Ayub caught and bowled for 57. Azam Khan fell shortly afterwards but the Amazon Warriors continued to force the pace before Obed McCoy got Hope to chop on to his stumps for an even 50.
Late-over fielding penalties saw the Royals get punished but Brathwaite continued to be a thorn in the Amazon Warriors side dismissing Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith in the 19th over before Jason Holder followed suit in the last over to remove Dwaine Pretorius and Keemo Paul.
The Amazon Warriors still posted an imposing total of 181-9 that left the Royals an almighty task ahead.
While 182 to win was always likely to be a tall order, the Royals did not help their assignment by losing both their openers inside the PowerPlay. However, the Royals reached the six-over mark at 54-2 and ensured they had a base from which to mount a charge.
A 60-run partnership between Laurie Evans and Alick Athanaze was eventually bought to a close when Odean Smith got Evans to commit to a shot too early and Athanaze himself was to follow 12 balls later.
Just when it seemed the Royals were going to fall to defeat captain Rovman Powell blasted 39 from 19 balls to leave the Royals the equation of 31 runs needed from 19 balls.
Once Braithwaite and Justin Greaves had got the equation down to six of the final over it looked a forgone conclusion but the Warriors and Motie closed out a famous win.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 181-9 (Ayub 58, Hope 50; Brathwaite 4-27, McCoy 2-25) beat Barbados Royals 178-8 (Evans 44, Powell 39; Pretorius 2-24, Motie 2-38) by three runs.
The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first. The decision went in their favour when they restricted the Knight Riders to 45-2 at the end of the PowerPlay. However, despite taking regular wickets the Knight Riders had several useful cameos throughout their innings to post a challenging 173 to win.
The Amazon Warriors timed their chase perfectly in reply and had an excellent partnership between Ayub and Hope to thank as the two batters scored half centuries to lay the foundation for the Amazon Warriors power hitters to seal the victory at the death.
In the first innings, the Knight Riders got off to a bad start losing Mark Deyal and Nicholas Pooran in the PowerPlay, the latter falling to a tremendous one-handed catch from wicket keeper Azam Khan.
When Martin Guptil skied one off the bowling of Imran Tahir to leave the Knight Riders on 57-3, the innings needed rebuilding.
Akeal Hosein and Lorcan Tucker stepped up to task the and put the Knight Riders back in the game before Tucker was run out for 38 off 25 balls.
Andre Russell kept the momentum up by hitting a couple of Republic Bank maximums before he departed for a quick-fire 14. His dismissal brought Kieron Pollard to the wicket and the captain responded with a brutal 25 from 12 balls, however, like those before him he failed to kick on.
Ultimately the innings was underpinned by Akeal Hosein. His unbeaten 44 helping to guide the Knight Riders to a competitive score of 172-8.
Much like the Knight Riders, the Amazon Warriors were to get their innings off to an inauspicious start. Chandrapaul Hemraj falling inside the first two overs for 10.
However, Ayub and Hope went on to lay the foundation for the Amazon Warriors chase with a brilliantly constructed partnership of 93 from 67 balls.
Despite Ayub (62) and Hope (51) eventually falling at the back end of the innings. Azam Khan and Shimron Hetmyer hit several Republic Bank maximums to seal the win in style.
The victory means the Amazon Warriors return to the top of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 175-4 (Ayub 62, Hope 51; Russell 2-29, Khan 2-30) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 172-8 (Hosein 44*, Tucker 38; Smith 3-31, Paul 1-17) by six wickets
Rain limited play to just one session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, but Pakistan eventually made their time with the bat count as they reached 158-4 on Wednesday.
It was a poor start as Abdullah Shafique was dismissed for just two runs before Shoriful Islam (2-30) took both Shan Masood (6) and Babar Azam (0) as Pakistan fell to 16-3.
However, Ayub and Shakeel soon found their footing, adding 98 runs as a partnership before the former was finally caught for 56.
Shakeel reached 57 not out and Mohammad Rizwan reached 24 not out as Pakistan dragged themselves into a much stronger position before bad light brought play to a close for the day.
Data Debrief: Slow and steady
Since making his debut in October 2016, Azam has been dismissed for a duck eight times in men's Tests; only Azhar Ali (11) among Pakistani batters has been dismissed more often for a duck during the same period.
However, Shakeel's introduction soon turned the tide, and he became their joint-quickest batter to reach 1000 Test runs, getting there in his 20th innings and matching Saeed Ahmed's record from 1959.
Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting will be joining the Jamaica Tallawahs. Cutting has played at the CPL before with the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in 2018. With experience in the best T20 leagues around the world he will bring power batting and skillful bowling to the Tallawahs line up.
Tristan Stubbs will be joining the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. A powerful batter who has recently broken into the South African international team, Stubbs has experience of playing in T20 leagues in England, India and his native South Africa. This exciting talent will bring firepower to the Patriots team.
Saim Ayub will join the Guyana Amazon Warriors, an international batter for Pakistan in T20 International cricket. With a proven track record of success, he will be a real boost for the Amazon Warriors.
The Amazon Warriors have also announced that Rahmanullah Gurbaz will not be available for some of this year’s CPL due to international commitments. Gurbaz will be replaced by Pakistan international Mohammad Haris for that period.
Hurraira was expected to get a chance when the two-match series gets under way in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, having impressed on the domestic stage for Islamabad United.
He scored 218 against a Bangladesh High Performance XI in a four-day match last month, also receiving his first international call-up for a tour of Sri Lanka.
He was not selected for his red-ball debut during that series, however, and he has also been overlooked for this week's first meeting with Bangladesh, despite Imam-ul-Haq being rested.
"We have plenty of riches in our opening batting," Masood said ahead of the Test. "Imam-ul-Haq isn't here for this series.
"We don't limit ourselves to 17 players. We have 20 to 25 players who are part of our squad.
"We initially felt that it was our ideal chance to check Muhammad Hurraira and see what he could offer the Pakistan team after doing so well in domestic cricket in the last three or four years.
"We rested Imam in this series. Saim, who is in good touch now, showed potential in the second innings against Australia.
"As a team, you have to send a message of continuity. So we will try to back the players. We want to give him a fair chance."
Masood also said the expected conditions at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium had influenced the decision to select Mohammad Ali to lead the bowling attack.
"You have to look at a few factors," Masood said. "You have to take into account Pakistan's position in the WTC.
"We at least have to win the home matches. Secondly, you have to look at the ground conditions. Thirdly, we have to look at our team combination.
"I think Mohammad Ali gave us the surprise element, we have been seeing it for a long time."
Miraz, who took five wickets during the opening Test, again starred with the ball for Bangladesh, crucially dismissing Saim Ayub (58) and Shan Masood (57).
Taskin Ahmed (3-57), who was brought in for the injured Shoriful Islam, got Bangladesh off to a flying start with the wicket of Abdullah Shafique (0) in the very first over.
Ayub and Masood steadied the ship to have the hosts 99-1 at lunch, only for the latter to fall soon after, which resulted in the wickets beginning to tumble.
Babar Azam again struggled with the bat, scoring 31 from 77 deliveries, with Khurram Shahzad (12), Mohammad Ali (two) and Abrar Ahmed (nine) all falling victim to Miraz's impressive bowling display.
Bangladesh openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan ended the day at the crease with the visitors 10 without loss as they look to confirm the series triumph on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Miraz the man
Miraz's impressive bowling display proved to be the difference on the second day, putting Bangladesh in a strong position in the series.
It was also the 10th five-wicket haul of his career, three of which have come away from home.
Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to bowl first, producing a disciplined performance to bowl the Knight Riders out for just 94. Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie produced valuable economical spells, while Dwaine Pretorius took four wickets.
It was a nervy chase from the Amazon Warriors in front of a home crowd as the Knight Riders tried to restrict runs with spin. However, Saim Ayub and Shai Hope, the two leading run scorers in CPL this season, would ultimately see the team over the line, winning by nine wickets.
Despite a 24-run opening stand between Chadwick Walton and Mark Deyal, the Knight Riders lost wickets at regular intervals, with three falling to seam bowling in the Powerplay, including key batter Nicholas Pooran for just one.
Captain Kieron Pollard would fall straight after the Powerplay, as spin began to play a vital role, with Motie and Tahir causing havoc, taking a combined four wickets between them and conceding just 15 runs in total.
Keacy Carty would attempt to lead the resistance for the Knight Riders, but as he ran out of partners he found himself taking more risks, eventually falling to a brilliant Shimron Hetmyer catch. The Knight Riders would finish 94 all out.
Guyana Amazon Warriors lost the early wicket of Keemo Paul, who was opening, which added tension to their chase. Knight Riders would deploy both Akeal Hosein and Sunil Narine in the Powerplay in an attempt to prise more wickets, but the Amazon Warriors would end the Powerplay on 29-1.
Saim Ayub and Shai Hope would show the form that has led to them leading the run scoring charts this season, combining to take the Amazon Warriors to victory, Ayub bringing up his half century with a six from the last ball of the chase, to take the Warriors to a maiden CPL title win.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 99-1 (Ayub 52*, Hope 32*; Hosein 1-21) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 94 all out (Carty 38, Deyal 16; Pretorius 4-26, Motie 2-7) by 9 wickets.
Winning the toss and opting to field first, the Warriors were resolute in their approach. Despite a fiery start by Brandon King, the Jamaica Tallawahs found it challenging to maintain their momentum, concluding their innings at 152-5 after 20 overs.
The home team's chase began with a dream opening partnership as Saim Ayub and Matthew Nandu combined forces to construct an impressive 112-run stand, firmly establishing the Warriors' dominance. Ayub showcased his brilliance, amassing a remarkable 85 runs to steer the Guyana Amazon Warriors towards a comfortable victory.
Although the Jamaica Tallawahs suffered an early setback with the dismissal of Alex Hales, courtesy of Romario Shepherd's bowling, Brandon King showcased his prowess, crafting exquisite shots on his way to a half-century off just 29 balls.
However, the Guyana Amazon Warriors retaliated when Gudakesh Motie dismissed King, causing a slowdown in the Tallawahs' scoring rate. Over a span of six middle overs, the Tallawahs struggled to find the boundary consistently, thanks in large part to the contributions of South African duo Dwaine Pretorius and Imran Tahir.
As the innings drew to a close, the Jamaica Tallawahs managed to reach a total of 152-5 after their allotted 20 overs.
Guyana Amazon Warriors introduced CPL debutant Matthew Nandu, who, alongside Saim Ayub, formed an opening partnership that firmly tilted the game in the Warriors' favor.
Ayub reached his half-century from 34 balls, marking his third consecutive CPL fifty. In the 13th over, Chris Green managed to dismiss Matthew Nandu, but Ayub continued to dazzle, accumulating 85 runs and guiding his side to the brink of victory before eventually losing his wicket. Shai Hope and Odean Smith sealed the deal for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
With this convincing win, the Guyana Amazon Warriors advance to Qualifier 1, setting the stage for more thrilling CPL action. Their next challenge awaits them as they square off against the Saint Lucia Kings on Thursday evening.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors: 155-3 (Ayub 85, Nandu 37; Springer 1-23, Irshad 1-27)
Jamaica Tallawahs: 152-5 (King 52, Allen 21; Pretorius 2-33, Shepherd 1-19, Tahir 1-19)
Result: Guyana Amazon Warriors win by 7 wickets.
The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first and the decision went in their favour as a Knight Riders side shorn of Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine posted a competitive 176-8. The Amazon Warriors timed their chase perfectly in reply as Hope carried on his good form with an unbeaten 54 to ensure the game was won with 10 balls to spare.
Earlier on, a much-changed Knight Riders got off to a bad start when Martin Guptil was run out for one but Mark Deyal’s quick fire 37 from 20 balls ensured the Knight Riders were able to post a healthy 49-2 by the end of the PowerPlay.
Chadwick Walton and Keacy Carty put on a 59-run partnership before Imran Tahir cleaned up Walton for 25.
However, that merely signalled the moment for Carty to press the accelerator. He took an extreme liking to Odean Smith, taking him for 26 runs in the 15th over to bring up his half century.
Carty was to go on to make a brilliantly constructed 83 before he was eventually stumped. That wicket was one of three in the 19th over as Imran Tahir halted the Knight Riders momentum.
The Knights Riders were to eventually post 176, a total that gave their bowlers something to work with.
In reply, the Amazon Warriors got off to the best possible start in the PowerPlay. Odean Smith partnered Saim Ayub and the pair reached 56-0 at the end of six overs but Ayub was to fall immediately after the fielding restrictions were lifted, skying a delivery from Akeal Hosein.
Smith was to go on to make his best score of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) – benefitting from three drops on his way to a sparkling 44, Smith’s knock ensured the Warriors only needed 60 from 44 balls with eight wickets remaining.
It was an equation the Amazon Warriors negotiated with ease as they romped to victory with two overs remaining.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 177-4 (Hope 54*, Smith 44; Deyal 1-21, Hinds 1-26) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 176-8 (Carty 83, Deyal 37; Tahir 3-12, Paul 1-11) by 6 wickets
Captain Babar Azam continued his stellar form this season with a top score 53 to help Peshawar post 196-8 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Gladiators.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Saim Ayub each provided good support for their skipper with 33 and 30, respectively, while Rovman Powell finished 28*.
Akeal Hosein was the star of the show with the ball for the Gladiators with 4-23 from his four overs including a hat trick with the wickets of Aamer Jamal (5), Mehran Mumtaz (0) and Luke Wood (0) in the 16th over.
The Gladiators were then reduced to 120 all out off 17.5 overs.
It was a collective effort with the ball for the Zalmi as Saim Ayub, Luke Wood, Khurram Shahzad and Mehran Mumtaz all took a pair of wickets.
Peshawar have now officially booked their ninth consecutive trip to the PSL playoffs.
Full Scores: Peshawar Zalmi 196-8 off 20 overs (Babar Azam 53, Tom Kohler-Cadmore 33, Saim Ayub 30, Rovman Powell 28*, Akeal Hosein 4-23)
Quetta Gladiators 120 all out off 17.5 overs (Saud Shakeel 24, Khurram Shahzad 2-15, Saim Ayub 2-20, Luke Wood 2-21, Mehran Mumtaz 2
The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first, but the decision backfired, as the Amazon Warriors made light of losing wickets at regular intervals, to post an exceptional 197 for 7.
In reply, the Patriots struggled to get close to the Warriors total, being bundled over for 132 in 16.5 overs.
Evin Lewis played a quick-fire captain’s knock, but once he fell, no one else in the Patriots order was able to have a similar effect on the game.
The Amazon Warriors innings suffered an early blow when Sheldon Cottrell removed Chandrapaul Hemraj in the first over for a duck.
Though the Patriots lost two further wickets in the PowerPlay –Saim Ayub falling to Dominic Drakes and Azam Khan to Oshane Thomas –they kept the run-rate brisk, and were well positioned at 59 for 3, at the end of the initial six overs.
Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer maintained and, by extension, built on that momentum taking the score to 101 for 3 at the halfway stage of the innings. Hope led the way, as he raced to a half-century from a mere 26 balls.
However, the partnership was eventually broken by wrist spinner Izharulhaq Naveed, who bowled the destructive Hope for 54. That wicket was quickly followed up by the dismissal of Hetmyer for 26, as the left-hander holed out to the fielder on the deep point boundary.
Those wickets briefly took the momentum out of the innings, before Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd not only steadied the ship, but added quick runs at the backend to help the Warriors to their imposing target.
The Patriots reply never really got going as scoreboard pressure told.
Andre Fletcher and Joshua Da Silva fell inside the PowerPlay to leave the Patriots 37 for 2 at the end of six overs.
Lewis played a fine counter-attacking innings of 48 from 24 balls to bring the required run-rate down to something more manageable, but whatever hope they had of achieving the winning target, was short lived.
Lewis and Sherfane Rutherford fell six balls apart to leave the Patriots at 88 for 4 after 10 overs.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, the remaining batsmen failed to put together any useful partnerships, as they came and went in quick succession.
Gudakesh Motie proved too hard to handle and, as such, finished with career best figures in a spell that included the wicket of Ambati Rayudu.
The left-arm spinner ended with four wickets for 28, almost single-handedly gifting Amazon Warriors an opening victory, which would not only boost their confidence, but also set them up nicely for the remainder of the campaign.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 197-7 (Hope 54, Ayub 31; Thomas 3-38, Drakes 2-43) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 132 (Lewis 48, Rayudu 32; Motie 4-29, Tahir 2-35) by 65 runs
The Patriots will look to bounce back when they host the Barbados Royals on Saturday.
Chasing 155, Pollard bludgeoned an unbeaten 49 off 21 balls with four towering sixes and four boundaries to take Kings home in 16.5 overs for their first win in the tournament.
Babar's landmark 271st T20 in which he became the fastest batter to reach 10,000 runs saw Zalmi getting bowled out for 154 in 19.5 overs after the Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Babar followed his half-century in the first game against Quetta Gladiators with a knock of 72 off 51 balls, but his effort went in vain for the second successive game.
Zalmi's innings revolved around Babar's brilliance after it lost three wickets inside the batting powerplay with Shoaib Malik dismissing Saim Ayub off the first ball with a full-pitched delivery that didn't turn much. Hasan Ali, playing against his former franchise, also had a dream start when he knocked back Tom Kohler-Cadmore's off stump off his first ball.
Babar revived the innings with Rovman Powell (39) in a 68-run stand and Asif Ali scored 23 before Peshawar lost its last six wickets for only 18 runs in the last four overs. Powell top-edged a reverse sweep against left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz a while Asif holed out at long-on.
Left-arm fast bowler Mir Hamza (3-28), who bowled to hard lengths with the new ball, chipped in with the wickets of Aamer Jamal and then took a fine return catch to dismiss Babar in his last over as the Zalmi innings folded quickly.
Pollard brought an early finish when he smashed three straight sixes and two fours in a 27-run over against Afghanistan's left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil, one of the two changes Zalmi made after losing the first match by 16 runs. Salamkheil conceded 54 off his four overs and got Malik stumped for run-a-ball 29.
James Vince remained unbeaten on 38 and ended up denying Pollard a chance at a much-deserved half-century when he drove Luke Wood (2-20) for the winning boundary in the 17th over.
Kings, who lost their first game against Multan Sultans by 55 runs, have two points from two games while Zalmi is still looking for their first win.
Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bowl first. Led by Waqar Salamkheil and Terrence Hinds they produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Guyana Amazon Warriors to 166-7 after 20 overs, Despite another super innings from Saim Ayub, it was Guyana Amazon Warriors lowest score this season when batting first.
The Knight Riders chase was headlined by Chadwick Walton, with the opener ensuring his side never fell below the run rate and eventually guiding them across the finish line with a brilliant innings of 80 not out that ensured they progressed to the final on Sunday.
Ayub continued his brilliant maiden CPL season with a score of 49 as he once again opened with Odean Smith. Their 53-run partnership would prove to be the foundation of the Amazon Warriors innings. Despite losing leading run scorer Shai Hope in the ninth over, they would manage to reach 166-7 largely thanks to the late runs scored by Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie.
Salamkheil and Hinds would both prove to be vital for the Knight Riders, as they took wickets and contained the scoring.
Trinbago Knight Riders raced away to 41-0 after 4 overs as Walton and Mark Deyal combined to give their side an ideal start to the chase.
Imran Tahir would bring himself on to bowl and strike with his first ball, trapping Deyal lbw. Nicholas Pooran replaced Deyal and together with Walton, forged a 51-run partnership before the former was caught off the bowling of Dwaine Pretorius for 33.
However, Walton would silence the Providence crowd with his innings of 80*, which included nine boundaries. He was supported by Captain Kieron Pollard as TKR surged towards victory and a place in Sunday’s final.
Qualifier 2 between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs will take place on Friday evening at Providence Stadium.
Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 167-3 (Walton 80*, Pooran 33; Pretorius 2-36, Tahir 1-30) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 166-7 (Ayub 49, Khan 36; Salamkheil 2-28, Hinds 2-32) by seven wickets
