The CPL 2021 saw the final league games being played with Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors winning but Saint Lucia Kings and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots lost ahead of the semi-final.
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The final league games of the CPL 2021 saw mixed results for the four semi-finalists at Warner Park, St Kitts. Trinbago Knight Riders, the defending champions, ended on top of the table. Guyana Amazon Warriors won their last game against Jamaica Tallawahs. However, there were mixed results for the Saint Lucia Kings and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. The Kings lost to the Barbados Royals while St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were upstaged by a blitz from Kieron Pollard in the last game.
With the end of the league stages, the semi-final line-up is now complete. Trinbago Knight Riders will take on fourth-placed Saint Lucia Kings. Guyana Amazon Warriors, on the other hand, will take on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Trinbago Knight Riders went through the CPL 2020 without a loss. Although they lost a couple in 2021, they are once again the favorites to win the title on Wednesday.
The CPL 2021 has been a very tough campaign for Barbados Royals, losing seven out of nine games and finishing at the bottom. However, in their last game, they ended the tournament on a high. Barbados Royals won the toss and chose to bowl but the Kings started well. Andre Fletcher and Rahkeem Cornwall shared a solid 62-run opening stand. Roston Chase built upon the solid partnership and along with Tim David and David Wiese, the Kings notched up 190/6. Oshane Thomas was the pick of the bowlers with 3/39. But, Glenn Phillips and Kyle Mayers completely decimated the bowling.
Mayers hit three fours in one over bowled by Alzarri Joseph. But, he benefited from a dropped catch by Samit Patel. In the sixth over, they lost two wickets but from that point, it was the Mayers and Phillips show. Mayers hit a four and six off Chase while Phillips also responded with one six.
Mayers and Phillips dealt primarily in sixes and fours. In the 1tth over, both batsmen hit a six off Wiese to stitch a 50-run stand. The assault continued and the end came quickly with Phillips hitting three sixes off Joseph to help them win the match by eight wickets.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have made it a point to recover from a precarious position. In the game against Jamaica Tallawahs which was reduced to 18 overs, they were in a spot of bother at 75/7. Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets but Romario Shepherd changed the match completely. He smashed seven fours and six sixes in his brilliant knock of 72 from 31 balls. The partnership for the eighth wicket was 67 runs as Guyana Amazon Warriors reached 142/7.
In response, Jamaica Tallawahs were in the same situation. After losing Carlos Brathwaite and Andre Russell in quick succession, they never recovered. Chris Green kept the fight going with three sixes and a four in his knock of 31 from 20 balls. But, in the end, Jamaica Tallawahs lost by 14 runs.
In the final game of the triple-header, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were blown away by the Kieron Pollard storm. Chris Gayle failed again as he was dismissed for 5. But, Joshua Da Silva hit a brilliant fifty and he got good support from Sherfane Rutherford and Dwayne Bravo. But, the lower order failed and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots ended on 147/7. Ali Khan was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets.
In response, Fawad Ahmed’s tight spell of 2/16 kept the game interestingly poised. But, Pollard continued to show his worth in this format. He blasted 51 off 22 balls with three fours and five sixes. Isuru Udana also provided some great hitting at the end as his three sixes boosted his score to 25 off 16 balls. Trinbago Knight Riders won the game by four wickets with an over to spare.
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