Guyana is the defending champion. After winning easily by eight wickets over Barbados Royals in Qualifier 2, Amazon Warriors secured a spot in the CPL 2024 final against Saint Lucia Kings.
The Amazon Warriors, led by Moeen Ali (2-24) and Romario Shepherd (3-35), bowled disciplined to limit the Royals to 148. With 5.3 overs remaining, the top three of the Amazon Warriors scored 93 runs with Moeen (44*) and Hope (50*), who struck with the bat, to take their team over the finish line.
Moeen started the Amazon Warriors’ chase with a couple of boundaries in the opening two overs. Then, Gurbaz entered the fray, hitting back-to-back sixes off Maheesh Theekshana. His Afghanistan teammate attacked Naveen-ul-Haq when Gurbaz scored 18 off the fourth over, including two fours and a six.
The partnership reached 50 when Theekshana was blasted for a second six, but the spinner responded by dismissing Gurbaz for 40 off 18. But Amazon Warriors didn’t stop hitting as Hope hit two fours and a six off Jason Holder’s sixth over, which ended with 18 runs.
During the powerplay, Amazon Warriors reached 72, and by the midway point of the innings, they had quickly reached 113 thanks to a fast-bowling half-century partnership between Hope and Moeen.
Except for Ramon Simmonds’ seventh over, which scored just four runs, the Amazon Warriors’ overs were profitable. Hope and Moeen consistently delivered big knocks, reducing the total to 36 off the final 60 balls.
After hitting two consecutive fours off Theekshana in the eleventh over, Hope reached a fifty-two overs score of 26 balls. With a four against Obed McCoy, Moeen reached the 40s. Simmonds bowled Hope and took the winning single in the 15th over.
Quinton de Kock scored a four and a six in the opening three overs of the first innings, but he was largely kept quiet and was eventually out caught and bowled by Gudakesh Motie for a run-a-ball score of fifteen.
After Rahkeem Cornwall hit a series of limits, Shepherd trapped him in front. The Royals scored 41 during the powerplay, but when they looked to continue, both Alick Athanaze and Kadeem Alleyne, who were batting well, fell quickly after Moeen Ali and Imran Tahir struck in consecutive overs.
Kieran Powell attempted to counterbalance by hitting Moeen for a four and a six, but the former England all-rounder caught him in the deep, further complicating matters for the Royals. With two sixes off Tahir, David Miller added to the Royals’ total with a 26-ball 36, and it appeared that they would end close to 160.
However, they could not reach even 150 as Shepherd claimed two wickets in the last over, and the Royals also ran out, preventing them from making a dramatic comeback.
Brief scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 149/2 in 14.3 overs (Shai Hope 56, Moeen Ali 44*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 40; Ramon Simmonds 1-26) defeated Barbados Royals 148 in 20 overs (David Miller 36, Alick Athanaze 26; Romario Shepherd 3-35, Moeen Ali 2-24) by eight wickets.