CPL 2024, Match 20 Review: Antigua & Barbuda Falcons keep playoff hopes alive with win over Trinbago Knight Riders

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Another intriguing match full of incidents in Port of Spain saw the previous evening’s winners, Trinbago Knight Riders lose to Antigua & Barbuda Falcons by six wickets with an over to spare. 

The win saw the Falcons keep their slim chances of progression alive and also gave them double bragging rights over the Knight Riders in this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL). 

The Falcons won the toss and chose to field first, canny bowling restricted the Knight Riders to a below par 134/8, Kieron Pollard's 37-ball 47 giving the home side a shot in the arm on a dewy night that made run scoring quite tricky. Last evening’s man of the hour Tim David chipped in with 25 off 20 balls to help haul his side to a competitive total. 

Justin Greaves then played a Player of the Match innings to give the Falcons their third victory in this year’s competition. Compiling a patient 46 off 48 balls he then retired himself at the death to allow a fresh, and bigger hitting teammate to finish the job. The somewhat risky decision ultimately paid off for the visitors.

Hassan Khan played a vital cameo with 36 off 20 deliveries and Imad Wasim was there at the end to see his side home in an eventful 19th over – in shades of the 2019 World Cup final - a deflection off the bat as the batter’s returned for the second run saw the ball run over the boundary rope and six runs awarded to the batting side. 18 runs were plundered off the Josh Little over in total with Fabian Allen nudging the winning runs to midwicket to seal the victory and keep the Falcons flying in this year’s CPL. 

“To win at Queen's Park Oval is a special thing” said a beaming Greaves moments after the match. “We haven't had a great season but to beat TKR twice is good. We’re just happy with how things panned out. To get the win against Trinidad in Trinidad, their fortress feels good. We have to take one game at a time. You never know..."

The Knight Riders finished the evening still in second position in the table and the Falcons ended it with a little hope that they could still salvage something from their 2024 CPL campaign.