Trinbago Knight Riders are through to the final of the CPL after a breathtaking victory over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
In the last qualifier for the Caribbean Premier League final, Trinbago defended a highly attainable target of 166 thanks to brilliant bowling by Fawad Ahmed, the leading wicket-taker in CPL 2018.
Ahmed devasted the Patriots innings, despite having to contend with extra dew on the ball, as he rolled through the middle order after Devon Thomas had kick-started the innings with 35 off 26 balls. Ahmed removed dangermen Anton Devcich and Ben Cutting in the 16th over to reduce the Patriots to 98-7, by which time the die was cast.
Ahmed finished with an incredible 3-13 at a match-winning economy rate of 3.25 runs per over.
Batting first, Trinbago got off to a solid start thanks to Brendon McCullum’s racy 43 off 26 balls (two fours, three sixes, S/R 165.38). Colin Munro (29), Denesh Ramdin (27 not out) and Darren Bravo (20) were all on song to take Trinbago to 165-6 off their 20 overs, which proved too much for the Patriots thanks to Player of the Match Ahmed’s bowling heroics.
One of the key Trinbago innings was Dwayne Bravo’s late flurry of 24 off eight balls, which included a four and three sixes at an incredible strike rate of 300.00. It was an innings that clearly made the difference in Trinbago’s 20-run victory.
The defending champions (and log leaders at the end of the league fixtures), Trinbago head to Sunday’s final in search of a third CPL title in four years. Standing in their way are the impressive Guyana Amazon Warriors, who beat Trinbago last Tuesday in Guyana in the first qualification playoff match.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/Getty Images
