Pooran, Hales fifties and Tariq, Narine strikes put Knight Riders in CPL 2025 final
Tim Seifert hit 57 for St Lucia Kings in the chase, but Usman Tariq took four wickets and Sunil Narine got three for Knight Riders to stop them short
Tim Seifert hit 57 for St Lucia Kings in the chase, but Usman Tariq took four wickets and Sunil Narine got three for Knight Riders to stop them short
Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
And that concludes all the CPL action for today. Thank you for tuning in. Do join us again for the Grand Finale! Until then, this is Rashad Mahbub signing off. Cheers!
David Wiese: "It's a bit of a tough pill to swallow. We were outplayed in almost every part of the game. I thought there was a time in the middle of our bowling innings that we pulled it back nicely, but the back end has hurt us the whole tournament, and again tonight, it came back to haunt us. To be honest, I thought that was a decent total, and if I had to win the toss again, I still would have probably made the same decision. [Last over bowling] Every single ball that you missed your mark could have been executed better. But it's so difficult when you're under pressure. They have some world-class strikers. You can do all the planning and look at all the footage, but if you don't execute the ball that you want to bowl, then guys just become so good at clearing the boundary. So you have to put your hands up. I myself included there, but it just wasn't good enough for us. [Run chase] I thought we got off to a good start, so we gave ourselves a good opportunity, but then we just lost momentum after that. We struggled to get boundaries in the middle overs, as their spinners bowled nicely and tied us down. Maybe the wicket got a little bit slower and started turning a bit, which made it a little more difficult. Unfortunately, we just couldn't gather that momentum again after the Powerplay. [Message to the fans] The support has been fantastic throughout the entire campaign, through the good times and the bad times. They've always had our back, and it's a big thank you to everybody for the support. We don't do this for ourselves; we do this for the fans and for the people who support us back at home in Saint Lucia. Unfortunately, we couldn't pull it off tonight, but the guys will be back strong again next year. I can guarantee you that, and they will come back swinging."
Player of the Match, Nicholas Pooran: "First of all, I want to give Jesus all praise and thanks. I'm really happy that I can continue my form. I got an opportunity to bat in the Powerplay and capitalize, which is really important for us. We know that in games like this, we all have to step up as players, and today was my opportunity. I got a start, and I'm happy I could have contributed. I think I left a couple of runs out there, so I am a bit disappointed with myself. I know it was a really positive start from Munro, and he unfortunately got out on the last ball of the over. It could have easily gone for a six, and it was unlucky for him. But for us, it's all about assessing the conditions and playing good cricket. We had a good platform to obviously launch from later. [Alex Hales] He has been batting really well for us. He's not getting off to a flying start, but he's not losing his wicket. He's stitching that partnership together and bringing his experience, which is wonderful to see. A score of 194 is an intimidating total. If we can play a game like this in the finals, we will be really happy. We had to go through the tough road, which was the Eliminator, then the Qualifier 2, and then the finals. As a group, we are coming together nicely. The momentum is on our side. We are starting to get back into the right winning mindset. [Team's journey] For us, it's really important to come together in a tournament like this, especially with the type of players we have. For the last couple of years, it has been challenging for us, and here in Guyana, it hasn't been on our side. But this group has been amazing. We started the tournament dominating, then lost three games, and showed character to put it together again, going the hard way from the Eliminator into this. A big congratulations to everyone in that room. I'm really proud of every single individual because we had to drop our egos and do what's required for this team. [Spinners] Our spinners have been incredible in this tournament. It started with Usman Tariq; he's been brilliant throughout. It's been a different situation for us, and we're really happy to have him. Sunil Narine continues to provide the best cricket, and I'm really lucky to have him. And Akeal Hosein has been having a tough time in this tournament, but in big games, big players step up, and tonight he was brilliant as well for us. [New ball tactics] It's all about what's required on this pitch. Andre Russell came out today and hit a couple of sixes and also bowled two overs in the Powerplay, which was really well done. Even Kieron Pollard bowled, and he had one over where he was smashing Shamsi and getting some revenge as well, which is really nice to see. [On the Grand Final] This is probably going to be one of the biggest games in CPL, especially here in Guyana. You know how the crowd is going to be. Everyone in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana is looking forward to this moment. You can't get better than this: Trinidad versus Guyana in a CPL final with this caliber of players. May the best team win. We respect them as a team, and I know they respect us as a team as well. So may the best team win. [A Message to the Fans] We love you guys. I know for the last month, we've entertained you, especially this week. Thank you for the support. One more, one more game to go. A big game. Continue to support us; we are doing this for you guys."
Moeed: "Having Akeal, Narine, Tariq in the same time...Ufff *fire*"
DaWolf: "With 2 overs to go, 4 sixes is playing 16. This match has been won by TKR for many reasons, but ability to hit sixes is right at the top of this list. "
11:35 pm It's safe to say the Trinbago Knight Riders have managed to outclass the St Lucia Kings in all three departments today. The Kings started lively, with Tim Seifert hitting a four and a six off Netravalkar's over. Seifert went rampant in the fourth over, striking four boundaries in a row. But Johnson Charles failed to keep up with Seifert's pace with the bat; runs kept on drying up. A crucial moment came when Seifert was dropped in the eighth over by the substitute fielder Clarke. The boundaries dried up, and Charles lost his wicket trying to break the shackles. Seifert then scored a fifty, but trying to accelerate, he got out in the second over of Usman Tariq. Tariq struck twice, getting the wicket of Auguste in the very next ball. The required run rate kept increasing, moving over 15 in the middle overs, and the Kings' batters had no answers on how to accelerate the innings. They lost wickets in clusters and failed to build any partnerships. Usman Tariq was the star, picking up four wickets, and Sunil Narine bagged three, with both bowlers being responsible for the batting collapse.
Trinbago Knight Riders won by 56 runs
TS Mills c sub (M Clarke) b Usman Tariq 6 (2m 3b 0x4 1x6) SR: 200
RL Chase c Narine b Usman Tariq 16 (28m 16b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100
Tariq to bowl the last over.
Tim Seifert hit 57 for St Lucia Kings in the chase, but Usman Tariq took four wickets and Sunil Narine got three for Knight Riders to stop them short