Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Imran Tahir finally helped the franchise break the jinx of losing in finals as the veteran South African led the team to its first-ever Caribbean Premier League (CPL) glory on September 24 (Sunday). In an honest and emotional admission after winning the title, Tahir shed light on how several people cast doubts on him when he was made the captain of the franchise.
Tahir also extended a heartfelt gratitude to India's veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who believed in the South African's ability to lead a team.
"Everyone were sending jokes that I became captain. That actually motivated me, I wanna say thanks to those people. Thanks to our analyst Prasanna. He worked almost 20 hours a day to give us plans. Also want to thank R Ashwin from India. Before the tournament he said our team will do it," Tahir said in the post-match presentation.
Meanwhile, Tahir also shattered MS Dhoni's record and became the oldest captain to win a T20 trophy. Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings (CPL) to an IPL title at the age of 41 earlier in the year while Tahir achieved the feat at the age of 44.
Coming back to the CPL 2023 final, Guyana outmuscled a star-studded Trinbago Knight Riders without breaking a sweat in front of their fans at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Imran Tahir's brigade thumped Kieron Pollard's team by nine wickets and lifted their maiden CPL title. Dwaine Pretorius starred with the ball for Guyana before Saim Ayub scored a thrilling half-century and finished the match in style.
Chasing a paltry target of 95 runs, Guyana lost the wicket of Keemo Paul (11 runs off 11 balls) for just 15 runs on the board. From there on, Ayub forged a match-winning alliance with the experienced Shai Hope that ultimately took Guyana to the promised land. The left-hand right-hand combination played sensible cricket with Ayub being the aggressor and Hope playing the role of an anchor to perfection. The duo stitched an unbeaten partnership of 84 runs that rolled out Guyana's road to the silverware.
Ayub, who smashed five elegant sixes and two fours, remained unbeaten on 52 runs off 41 balls while Hope scored 32 runs off 32 balls with the help of two boundaries. As a result of the duo's terrific display with the bat, Guyana chased down the target with six overs to spare.
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