Barbados Royals 137 for 7 (Webb 31, Knight 31, Munisar 3-21, Latchman 2-31) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 136 for 3 (Hunter 29, Connell 1-20) by three wickets
Barbados Royals seemed down and out with 27 needed off 16 balls. With just three wickets in hand, Shreyanka Patil, batting for the first time in WCPL 2025, walked in to face the hat-trick ball. She reverse hit the first two balls she faced to release the pressure. Aaliyah Alleyne then hit a four and a six in the following over that went for 15. And soon after, Royals were rejoicing as they had not just registered a come-from-behind win in the title clash against Guyana Amazon Warriors, but also completed a three-peat in the WCPL.
While Royals soaked it all in - team-mates rushing to try and get Alleyne, who was flat on her back after hitting the winning run, up on her feet - Amazon Warriors' Ashmini Munisar couldn't contain her tears. She was involved in four of the seven Royals dismissals and picked up 3 for 21 in her four overs that included a maiden.
It was Munisar, 21, who turned the game on its head with a wicket-maiden in the 14th over of the chase. She dismissed the set Kycia Knight for 31 off 37 balls to leave Royals needing 56 off 36 balls. In her last over, the 18th of the chase, she got rid of Courtney Webb, who was controlling the chase with her 27-ball 31. With her next ball, Munisar got Afy Fletcher stumped to pick up her eighth wicket in the competition, the joint-highest. She had earlier taken a stunning catch at backward square-leg to remove the dangerous Chinelle Henry, Royals' captain in Hayley Matthews' absence. But Patil and Alleyne scored the remaining 27 runs in just 14 balls to etch their names on the trophy again.
The start of each innings highlighted the contrast in the batting between the two sides. Chamari Athapaththu hit two fours in the opening over of the 137-run chase, including one on the first ball. Royals hit eight fours in the powerplay whereas Amazon Warriors earlier hit their first on the 20th ball, and just four fours in the first six overs.
Opting to field, Royals managed to keep Amazon Warriors in check despite not picking up a lot of wickets. Opener Amy Hunter, who finished second on the run-scorers' charts, hit just four despite batting till the 13th over. Stafanie Taylor was on 15 off 12 balls when she had to be stretchered off with a leg injury. She did not participate in the game after that.
Laura Harris looked Amazon Warriors' best batter, hitting two fours and a six in her eight-ball 18 before missing the line against Alleyne's in-ducker. Their total only gained some respectability thanks to the unbroken 56-run partnership between captain Shemaine Campbelle and Dane van Niekerk.
Royals were off to a fluent start with Player of the Tournament Athapaththu leading the way. Even after she fell, Knight and Webb kept up with the ask. Unbeaten through the competition, a collapse of 5 for 29 briefly threatened to undo Royals' good work. Munisar was threatening to make it a happy ending for her. Only for Alleyne and Patil to deny her.
