Trinbago Knight Riders came up with a disciplined performance with both ball and bat to pick up their third win in four games in CPL 2025. Their bowlers first managed to restrict Antigua and Barbuda Falcons for just 146 for 7 before half-centuries from Alex Hales and Keacy Carty helped them chase down the target with more than an over to spare.
Falcons were put under the pump in the very first over of the contest when Mohammad Amir bowled a double-wicket maiden to kick things off. Skipper Nicholas Pooran did speak about the moisture on the surface when he opted to bowl and Amir obliged with an inswinger to trap Rahkeem Cornwall lbw. Two balls later, it was Karima Gore’s turn to fall in the same manner. Jewel Andrew broke the shackles with a couple of boundaries and then revived his side in the final over of the PowerPlay with two sixes off Sunil Narine.
However, Akeal Hosein did some damage at the other post the PowerPlay by adding two wickets, that included veteran Shakib Al Hasan. But Falcons were then really under a lot of pressure when 71 for 4 became 71 for 6 in a matter of three deliveries. Andre Russell turned the contest around completely in his side’s favour with a double-wicket maiden as Andrew first departed as a result of an excellent catch before Fabian Allen was sent packing for a duck. It was then up to the Pakistan duo of Usama Mir and Imad Wasim to drag their side to a respectable total. But they did more than that with Usama initially leading the charge. He hit three sixes and a couple of boundaries to put TKR on the backfoot and even though Amir got rid of him in the penultimate over, Imad managed a handful of boundaries on his own to ensure his side went closer to the 150-run mark.
However, Imad injured himself in the final over and as a result wasn’t available to bowl. That immediately gave TKR a bit of an advantage heading into the chase. The PowerPlay was still subdued though as they made only 42 runs along with the loss of Colin Munro’s wicket. While Hales and Carty didn’t really run away with the game, they did just enough to ensure the required run rate didn’t spike. But with dew coming down, things got harder for the bowling side to make a breakthrough and have a go at the middle order.
Carty took on Gore for a couple of sixes to bring up his fifty and went on a roll with Hales stuttering at the other end. Jayden Seales finally broke the partnership with Carty inside-edging one onto his stumps but it was quite evident that the wicket came late. Hales continued to fight hard to bring up his fifty and on either side of that landmark, Pooran slammed sixes to complete the win – their first over Falcons.
Brief scores: Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 146/7 in 20 overs (Jewel Andrew 40, Imad Wasim 37*; Mohammad Amir 3/22, Andre Russell 2/23) lost to Trinbago Knight Riders 152/2 in 18.4 overs (Keacy Carty 60, Alex Hales 55) by 8 wickets
