Trinbago Knight Riders ended their five-year drought as they won the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title for the fifth time with a three-wicket win in low-scoring encounter against Guyana Amazon Warriors on September 21. After taking two wickets with the ball, Akeal Hosein turned out to be the saviour with the bat as Knight Riders suffered a collapse in the slog overs. His seven-ball 16 took Knight Riders over the line with two overs to spare.
Warriors put up a fight
In the run chase of 131, it was a rollercoaster ride for Knight Riders. Colin Munro contributed with a 15-ball 23 cameo. After Dwaine Pretorius got the breakthrough, Moeen Ali bowled a maiden over. Then, skipper Nicholas Pooran fell to Pretorius after scoring just one run from nine balls. They were 45/2 after six overs. Warriors skipper Imran Tahir got into the act and sent Darren Bravo packing in the eighth over. At the halfway stage, Knight Riders were 62/3.
Wickets tumble but Knight Riders ride through the storm
Then, Sunil Narine took on Gudakesh Motie, hitting him for two sixes. Shamar Joseph was introduced in the 13th over and he delivered with Narine's wicket. He scored 22 runs from 17 balls. Tahir returned and Kieron Pollard smacked him for three sixes in the 14th over to make run chase look easy. In the next over, Tahir struck off consecutive deliveries to dismiss Pollard and Andre Russell. Joseph ended opener Alex Hales' stay at the crease. He scored 26 runs from 34 balls. Just when Warriors were looking to tighten the screws, Hosein hit Motie for a six and a four to rule out the possibility of an anti-climax.
Hope struggles, slow start for Warriors
Earlier, Tahir won the toss and opted to bat first. Russell bowled the first over, strayed from his line but managed to dismiss an in-form Quentin Sampson for a two-ball duck. Ben McDermott targeted Hosein, hitting him for two fours and a six. In the sixth over, left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar got the wicket of McDermott. he scored 28 runs from 17 balls. Hosein made amends and knocked over Shai Hope for a 19-ball 12 in the eighth over. At the halfway stage, Warriors were 57/3.
Cameos help Warriors post respectable total
Usman Tariq did not let Moeen accelerate and knocked him over for a 14-ball 10 in the 11th over. Hosein, on the last ball of his spell, got the prized wicket of Shimron Hetmyer. He scored just four runs from 13 balls. Warriors' struggled continued. But, Pretorius provided the much-needed acceleration, hitting Narine for two consecutive sixes in the 17th over. Netravalkar ended his cameo. The Proteas all-rounder scored 25 runs from 18 balls. Romario Shepherd contributed with a nine-ball 13 cameo. He got run out on the last ball. Iftikhar Ahmed contributed with 27-ball 30 as Warriors posted 130/8.