Trinbago beats Guyana Amazon to win fifth CPL title

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) ended a five-year drought and claimed a historic fifth Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title on Sunday, defeating the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) by three wickets in a tense, low-scoring final at Providence Stadium, report by the Hindu.

Playing with the most experienced XI in CPL final history, average age of 34 years and 117 days, TKR's victory was built on sharp bowling plans and calm, calculated hitting. On a turning pitch that favoured crafty spinners, the visitor showed it had arrived with the better strategy. Fielding first, TKR's Andre Russell set the tone from the first ball, hurrying the in-form Quentin Sampson with a short ball to dismiss him for a two-ball duck. While Ben McDermott briefly lifted the Warriors with a quick 28 off 17, USA's Saurabh Netravalkar, kept a lid on the scoring.

The Warriors' top order struggled against the pacers as the Warriors crawled to 57 for 3 at the halfway mark before TKR applied the squeeze with spin. A late recovery by Iftikhar Ahmed (30) and Dwaine Pretorius (25) gave the Warriors a respectable total of 130 for 8. Netravalkar was the pick of the bowlers for TKR, finishing with 3 for 25. TKR's chase was helped by Romario Shepherd spraying five wides in an expensive 22-run over. But after three overs, the innings lost momentum as the Warriors' spinners applied the brakes. While Nicholas Pooran struggled, the promoted Sunil Narine, despite a lean season, stepped up with two critical sixes to break the pressure.

Then, Kieron Pollard took command. In a vintage display of six-hitting, he launched three towering sixes off Imran Tahir, bringing the equation down to less than run a ball and making victory seem a procession. However, Tahir fought back, dismissing Pollard and Russell in quick succession before Shamar Joseph removed Alex Hales to set up a nervy finish. But Akeal Hosein calmly took his side home, sealing the win with a six and a four in the 18th over.

>>Agencies