Cooper assault takes Knight Riders to second CPL title
Kevon Cooper blitzed 29 off 14 balls in a low-scoring thriller to lead Trinbago Knight Riders to a three-wicket win in the CPL final
Kevon Cooper blitzed 29 off 14 balls in a low-scoring thriller to lead Trinbago Knight Riders to a three-wicket win in the CPL final
Commentator: Deivarayan Muthu
1.50am Dwayne Bravo walks up the podium to collect the trophy. He is joined by his team-mates and the partisan crowd roars again. Dwayne Bravo's Champion song blares in the background. Fitting finish to an exciting tournament. The jigs and the Calypso beats added to the spectacle of the final. Hope you enjoyed the party as much as we did. Until the next party gets started, it's goodbye and goodnight from Nikhil Kalro and Deivarayan Muthu. Many thanks for tuning in
1.15am It was the night of cameos. In the first innings, Mohammad Nabi smacked 18 off five balls to haul Patriots to a competitive 135 for 6. Cottrell built on it and made the early inroads in the chase; Shamsi and Hafeez then tightened the noose in the middle overs.
Cooper and Ramdin sensibly dealt in singles and twos and helped reduce the equation to 33 off the last three overs. Cooper, ultimately, went cray cray to secure a second CPL title for Trinbago Knight Riders. That he did so with an over to spare was incredible. Spare a thought for the Patriots who have moved up from finishing rock bottom to runners-up. I'll bring you the presentations shortly.
Fabian Allen of the Patriots wins an award for claiming the best catch of CPL 2017.
Cooper, Player of the Match: After we finished bowling, we thought we had an easy target. We did not bat well in the first six, though. I just told Ramdin to stay till the end. When I saw them set the field [in the end overs], I knew they were bowling to my strength - over cover. I just kept practicing, it has been while since I have made runs with the bat. This win is very special to me and I have been with this franchise for five years. I was off the field getting treatment for the hamstring, so I did not bowl the final over. Credit to Bravo, he had a niggle, but bowled it [the final over].
Chadwick Walton, Player of the Series: I am very happy to be part of the Guyana franchise. Disappointed not to make the final but that's cricket. I missed Chris at the top of the order but found a new partner in Guptill. I have learnt a lot and hope I can carry my consistency to England and so on.
Gayle: First let me say congratulations to Dwayne Bravo. They [Knight Riders] finished on top and finished with the title. To the St Kitts people and the franchise, thank you. To make it to the final - it's something superb. Both me and Lewis did not get off to a flying start today and I can easily say we were 20 runs short. But Cooper and Ramdin held their nerve. I can't fault the guys for the effort. It is a tough pill to swallow but such is life. The dew came into play, and the ball was very wet. I had to use a fast bowler and Cooper went berserk. Hopefully, this takes us forward. This is a young team and we see what the future holds. Phil (Simmons) is a cool, calm character. Credit to him too. We've got to move on from here.
Dwayne Bravo: Thanks to almighty god, the people of Trinidad and Taobago, and my team-mates. I think we deserve to be champions. I play around the world; the people in Trinidad always come and support us. If you look at both games in the playoffs, we had plans for Chris and Evin. Credit to our analyst - our game plan was to bowl very full to Evin, and it paid off. I just wanted the boys to give their best and stick to the plan. When you are destined for greatness, it will happen. This team is destined for greatness. We are a family. Kevon Cooper, we always back him. At some point, you've got to come good. Before, we did not need him much. Today, he came to the party. Trinidad and Tobago, this is for you.
Darren Bravo: Cooper said he would win it for us. He come out on top and batting with Ramdin would have helped him a lot.
Ramdin: It was pretty special. We had to do it batting till the end. Cooper played an amazing innings. Narine! What a wonderful bowler he is.
Cooper: This means so much to me. To come out here and make my team win is a special moment. Thank god! We just wanted to take it to the last three overs. I just kept believing in myself, and this is very special.All I was telling Denesh to bat till the end. Today was a good day to turn up for my team. I just told myself: stay focused. I have not scored runs in a long time, thanks to the crowd.
Narine: I always had faith in us. Yeah at the start of any game, we have faith. I hope Cooper goes from strength to strength. We will celebrate like Trinidadians tonight.
Katich, Knight Riders coach: Denesh Ramdin was outstanding, Cooper has been here for a long time. He held his nerve in the end and was magnificent. Dwayne had tweaked his hamstring - so we sent him in the Powerplay as he might not have been able to bat at the end. Thanks to Baz, Shadab, Amla who are not with us now. This is like a team full of brothers.
Venky Mysore, TKR CEO: It was such a dramatic finish. You could not have asked for a better finish. A huge thank you to Trinidad and Tobago in general - both in the stadium and across the country
Darren Bravo intervenes and carries Mysore into a team huddle. Chants of "TKR! TKR!TKR!" ring around the Brian Lara cricket academy. The players go on a lap of honour. The party will go on all night. Crazy scenes in Tarouba
Trinbago Knight Riders' players line up by the edge of the boundary. They're ready to celebrate
Bilal: "If tkr win today than it will be Dan chiristian's 2 title win in less than 10 days. wow titles are following him "
Free-hit
The 2017 CPL final will be a battle between Patriots' batting and Knight Riders' bowling. Can the latter stop the imperious opening pair of Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis?
Kevon Cooper blitzed 29 off 14 balls in a low-scoring thriller to lead Trinbago Knight Riders to a three-wicket win in the CPL final