CPL 2023: Guyana Amazon Warriors win their 1st title
The finals of the 2023 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) turned out to be a one-sided affair as Guyana Amazon Warriors triumphed over the Trinbago Knight Riders by nine wickets on Monday, September 25, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
The Warriors were the best side in the competition, having finished top of the table in the league stage with eight wins and just a solitary loss. Trinbago finished second on the points table but managed to beat Guyana in Qualifier 1. The Imran Tahir-led side had to take the longer route to the summit clash, defeating Jamaica Tallawahs in Qualifier 2.
Coming to the final, Tahir won the toss and invited Kieron Pollard’s men to bat first. The four-time champions had a wretched time with the willow as they lost six wickets for 49 runs inside the first 10 overs. Keacy Carty showed some fight but his 45-ball 38 couldn’t help the Knight Riders get to three figures.
Guyana Amazon Warriors make light work of a 95-run target
A paltry target of 95 was set for Guyana. All-rounder Keemo Paul hit a couple of boundaries before Akeal Hosein dismissed him. That was the only wicket that fell in the Warriors’ innings. In-form duo of Saim Ayub and Shai Hope finished the match with nine wickets and six overs to spare. The former remained unbeaten on 52 off 41 balls, while Hope finished on 32* off as many balls. The West Indies batter ended as the highest run-getter in the tournament, while Ayub came a close second.
Dwaine Pretorius was named Player of the Match for his phenomenal outing. He finshed with figures of 4/26 to break the back of the Trinbago innings. Incidentally, he also finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Hope was awarded Player of the Series for finishing as the highest run-getter in the competition. Interestingly, the top two leading run-scorers and wicket-takers in the tournament were from the Guyana team. It showed their dominance en route to winning their first CPL title.
