Image source- Getty
Imran Tahir, who was overcome with emotion, cried
nonstop from the conclusion of the CPL 2023 final till the presentation
ceremony and beyond. After all, he had been a significant contributor to the
Guyana Amazon Warriors’ first CPL championship after they had previously lost
five finals.
In front of a raucous home crowd in Providence, Amazon
Warriors accomplished this feat by dismissing Trinbago Knight Riders, the most
successful CPL team, for just 94. They then raced beyond the target with six
overs remaining, setting off wild celebrations. The demolition was led by
Dwaine Pretorius’ 4 for 26 and aided by economical plays from Romario Shepherd,
Tahir, and Gudakesh Motie. With 19 wickets in the powerplay over the course of
the season, Pretorius and Shepherd were instrumental in the Amazon Warriors’
quest for the title. Saim Ayub and Shai Hope worked together for a quick,
unbroken stand to take them home after they had finished laying the groundwork
for the victory.
After choosing to bowl, Amazon Warriors lasted almost
three overs without a wicket, but Knight Riders lost three wickets in as many
overs and lost their way after that. After wicketkeeper Azam Khan dropped
Nicholas Pooran, Pretorius bowled Mark Deyal for 16, Shepherd caught Chadwick
Walton lbw for 10, and Pretorius had Pooran skying one to mid-off on the very
next delivery.
When their new batters, Kieron Pollard and Akeal
Hosein, holed out in the same over off Motie after going for dubious big
smashes, the Knight Riders had just about recovered from being down 35 for 3.
Before Hosein miscued to long-off, where Shimron Hetmyer made a superb
sprinting catch, Pollard found deep midwicket for a duck.
After Keemo Paul was out in the third over for a
run-a-ball 11, the Amazon Warriors were not in a hurry to begin their chase.
Sunil Narine and Hosein’s next three overs of spin were survived by Hope and
Ayub with just one four, resulting in a season-lowest powerplay score of 29 for
1.
However, following that, the top two run scorers for
the season shifted tactics, especially Ayub, who focused on the straight
boundary for four of his five sixes. The first two occurred in Waqar
Salamkheil’s first over as soon as the powerplay ended, the third occurred in
his following over deep midwicket, and when Amazon Warriors just needed 12 runs
to win, Ayub blasted two more over Ali Khan’s head in the same over.
Apart from having Hope and Ayub at the top of the
batting chart, Pretorius and Tahir finished as the top-two wicket-takers with
20 and 18 wickets respectively, and Hope was also named the Player of the
Tournament.