The 30th and final regular fixture of this year’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) saw the reigning champions, Guyana Amazon Warriors, suffer a heavy 74-run defeat at the hands of Trinbago Knight Riders on home turf in Providence. Despite this loss, the Amazon Warriors finished top of the table and will face the Saint Lucia Kings in Qualifier 1 on 2 October. The Knight Riders will face Barbados in the Eliminator match on 1 October.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Knight Riders’ innings got off to a rocky start as Warriors’ captain Imran Tahir bowled Shaqkere Parris with a perfect googly that completely bamboozled the batter and scudded into the stumps. Tahir wheeled away in celebration, but it was to be the last thing his side would have to celebrate for a while on what turned out to be a bruising night.
Nicholas Pooran played one of the finest innings in the history of the CPL by striking a majestic century for the Knight Riders, finishing with 101 off just 59 balls, including nine fours and eight sixes. Jason Roy played the anchor role with 34 runs off 26 balls and watched on in awe as Pooran dispatched the Warriors’ stellar bowling line-up to all parts of the Providence stadium.
After being eventually dismissed at the end of the 16th over, caught behind by Shai Hope off the bowling of Shamar Joseph, Player of the Match Pooran’s dismissal didn’t stop the Knight Riders’ momentum. Captain Kieron Pollard (19 off 13) and Keacy Carty (27 off 13) ensured the visitors made it past the 200 mark, setting a challenging total of 211/5 for the Warriors to chase.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Shai Hope both got starts but failed to go on and make a decisive big score as the Warriors’ chase failed to ignite in the face of scoreboard pressure and smart bowling. Waqar Salamkeil’s left-arm wrist spin and Terrance Hinds’ medium-pace seamers proved the undoing of the home side, with the middle overs seeing a bundle of wickets fall as each bowler picked up three wickets apiece.
When Moeen Ali fell with the Warriors’ score on 88-8, it looked as if the 2023 CPL champions were going to suffer an emphatic 100-plus run defeat. However, some late-order resistance from Gudakesh Motie and Captain Tahir saw them up to a final total of 137 all out.
Nevertheless, it was a chastening 74-run defeat for the Warriors after looking so dominant in their previous four matches and a huge confidence boost to the Knight Riders ahead of next week’s tournament run.