Guyana Amazon Warriors won the Caribbean Premier League 2023 by defeating the Kieron Pollard-led Trinbago Knight Riders with a massive margin of nine wickets in the final at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Sunday.
Warriors batter Saim Ayub finished the game by hitting a delightful six straight over Trinbago pacer Ali Khan‘s head to clinch the maiden CPL title for his side.
Dwaine Pretorius stars with the ball
Winning the toss, the Warriors’ captain, Imran Tahir, elected to field first. Dwaine Pretorius emerged as the standout bowler for the Warriors, delivering a remarkable performance by taking four wickets while conceding just 26 runs in his allotted four overs. Gudakesh Motie also made a significant contribution, recording figures of 4-1-7-2. Skipper Tahir played a crucial role, securing two wickets and allowing only eight runs.
Throughout their innings, the Knight Riders found themselves losing wickets consistently. Keacy Carty played a valuable innings, scoring 38 runs from 45 balls, but aside from him, none of the other batters managed to ignite any significant momentum. As a result, the Knight Riders were eventually dismissed for 94 runs in 18.1 overs.
Also READ: Twitter Reactions – Guyana Amazon Warriors breaks the final jinx to clinch the Caribbean Premier League title – TKR vs GAM, CPL 2023 Final
In their pursuit of a 95-run target, the Guyana Amazon Warriors came up with the opening pair of Keemo Paul, returning to the team partnering with Ayub. Paul scored 11 runs from as many balls before being dismissed in the third over by Akeal Hosein.
Subsequently, Shai Hope joined Ayub and steadily built a strong partnership for the second wicket. Both batters consistently found the boundary, maintaining a steady scoring rate. The duo crafted a 50-run partnership in 52 balls.
Saim Ayub heroics
The young batting sensation, Saim Ayub, proved his mettle by playing a pivotal role for the Warriors throughout the CPL 2023 campaign. The left-handed batter showcased remarkable consistency, accumulating an impressive total of 478 runs in 13 innings during this CPL season, boasting an exceptional average of 43.45.
On the last ball of Ali Khan‘s second over, Ayub swiftly positioned his bat in the ball’s path and powerfully struck it straight down the ground for a massive six, stylishly concluding the game. This remarkable shot not only marked the Karachi-born cricketer’s fourth half-century in the tournament but also secured the maiden CPL triumph for the Guyana based team.
Here is the video:
WARRIORS ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE CPL 2023 🎉
Incredible scenes as Ayub wins it with a 6️⃣ – Republic Bank Play of the Day 💥#CPL23 #CPLFinal #TKRvGAW #CricketPlayedLouder #BiggestPartyInSport #RepublicBank pic.twitter.com/CHq7bJMiCV— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 25, 2023
