Trinbago Knight Riders defeated St Lucia Zouks by 8 wickets to win the 2020 edition of the Caribbean Premier League. This was a season to remember for the team led by Kieron Pollard, as they did not lose a single game this season.
Pollard led from the front while collecting 4 wickets to restrict St Lucia Zouks to a score of 154. Andre Fletcher scored the leading scorer for the Zouks with 39 runs with Fawad Ahmed also collecting 2 wickets for TKR.
Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo facilitated the chase, as they posted an undefeated 138-run partnership to lead the Knight Riders to an eight-wicket victory in the final. Simmons scored the leading scorer with 84 runs with Bravo hitting 58.
TKR became the first team in CPL history to win every match in the tournament. The final victory was achieved without one of its main players, Sunil Narine, being eliminated from the XI.
The turning point was undoubtedly 17th on bowling by inexperienced left-arm wrist-turning Afghan Zahir Khan, who posted 23 runs. From 41 required to 24 balls, it came down to running a ball while Simmons hit a six and Bravo hit a pair of bigs. Down to run a ball, Scott Kuggeleijn, Zouks’ most effective fast pitcher lost his length against a rampant. Simmons, who hit a six and a four to effectively end the contest when the 16 came from above.
In total, Simmons (4 sixes, 8 fours) and Bravo (2 fours and six sixes) reached 10 sixes between them, apart from 10 limits. Previously, the TKR Pollard skipper brilliantly mustered his resources as he showed the way with 4-for-30 figures that restricted Zouks to 154 after running to 77 for one on a stage. Pollard pitched his slower delivery variation on a field where the ball caught and was late.
Mark Deyal (29 of 27 balls), Fletcher (39 of 27 balls), Roston Chase (22 of 14 balls) had starts but failed to convert.
The final six wickets fell by six overs for 39 runs when Darren Sammy’s team failed to cross the 175-run mark.
Except for Pollard, pacemaker Ali Khan (2 of 25 in 3.1 overs) and Fawad Ahmed (2/22 in 3 overs) rose to the occasion on a day when TKR missed Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo did not throw a single just shot. of the 19.1 that they sent.
. (with PTI inputs)
.
