Shakib reaches 500 T20 wickets as Falcons win big

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons brought an end to their home leg with a win over the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots to remain at the top of the table in CPL 2025. Shakib Al Hasan starred with a miserly spell of 3 for 11 in two overs. The Bangladesh legend picked up his 500th T20 wicket in the game before the Falcons batters took the team past the finish line, courtesy Karima Gore’s unbeaten 52. The Patriots meanwhile have won only two of their six games and currently sit fourth.

After the Patriots fended off two quiet overs from the opening bowlers, Andre Fletcher switched gears and slammed Imad Wasim for a six and a four to get the scoring rate moving. But he fell five balls later to Jayden Seales. It was a double blow for the Patriots as Evin Lewis had retired hurt for the Patriots in between overs. Rilee Rossouw found the boundary twice before the end of the PowerPlay but the Patriots were still scoring at only 5.16 runs an over in this phase.

It got worse for the Patriots as Rossouw fell immediately after the PowerPlay. Lewis came out to bat again but was continuously getting beaten or just dead-batted the ball. The moisture available for the seamers made it tough for the batters to find any rhythm. The switch in scoring came through Lewis powering Usama Mir for a 12-run over before smashing Rakheem Cornwall for back-to-back maximums. Salman Irshad was brought back into the attack and got the dangerous Lewis to hole out in the deep.

Shakib came on and despite Mohammad Rizwan fetching a six off him in his first over, the veteran picked up his 500th T20 wicket, sending the Pakistani back in the same over. Once again, it looked like Springer would leak runs at the end with a 15-run 16th over with Kyle Mayers lining him up. But Shakib picked up Mayers and Naviann Bidaisee in a single over to peg the Patriots further back. The Patriots scored 11 in the 19th over but a chaotic last over saw three run outs as the visitors ended at 133 for 9.

In reply, Cornwall began the chase with three boundaries off Naseem Shah while Jewel Andrew hit the ball to the fence thrice in quick time to get the Falcons ahead of the eight-ball. But the big-hitting Cornwall miscued one high in the air which proved to be his undoing.

The scoring rate went down after the PowerPlay but Gore and Andrew also found a vital six to close out the over which always kept the Falcons in control. Andrew’s run-a-ball 28 came to an end at the hands off Waqar Salamkheil. Shakib chipped in with a couple of maximums and a four before getting stumped off Bidaisee. The Patriots could have made a game of it towards the end but dropped Gore and Andries Gous to let their opponents off the hook. Gore finished the innings swatting a full-toss in the last over to the boundary, and also brought up his 50 in the process.

Brief Scores: St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots 133/9 in 20 overs (Evin Lewis 32, Mohammad Rizwan 30; Shakib al Hasan 3-11, Salman Irshad 1-20, Jayden Seales 1-20) lost toAntigua and Barbuda Falcons 137/3 in 19.4 overs (Karima Gore 52*, Jewel Andrew 28; Waqar Salamkheil 1-16, Navian Bidaisee 1-17) by 7 wickets