Tag: CPL 2023

GUYANA: Pakistan’s opening batter Saim Ayub scored an unbeaten half-century to help Guyana Amazon Warriors win their maiden Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title with a thumping nine-wicket win over Trinbago Knight Riders on Sunday at Providence Stadium.

Saim Ayub ended the match in style with a six to finally win a CPL title for Guyana Amazon Warriors, as they fell short of winning it five times in past including the inaugural edition.

Warriors’ captain Imran Tahir invited Trinbago Knight Riders to bat first after winning the toss, and his bowlers justified his decision as they reduced the batting team to 35-3 in five overs after a brief yet quick 24-run opening stand.

Knight Riders’ captain Keiron Pollard fell to Gudakesh Motie on the third ball after the powerplay without opening his account.

Keacy Carty held on to one end for his cautious knock, while wickets kept tumbling at the other end and subsequently, the whole team bowled out at a paltry 94 in the 19^th over.

Carty was the last wicket to fall for his team after scoring an anchoring 38 off 45 balls with the help of two boundaries and one six. Only three batters including Carty managed to reach double figures courtesy, of the Warriors’ brilliant bowling performance.

Dwaine Pretorius topped the bowling charts with figures of 4-26, becoming the highest wicket-taker in the current season of CPL with 20 wickets, while captain Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie picked two wickets each.

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

Chasing a meagre 95, Guyana started the innings carefully as they lost the opening batter Keemo Paul after scoring a run-a-ball 11 in the third over.

However, Saim Ayub shifted gears after the power play and went after the bowlers, while Shai Hope anchored the innings.

Saim Ayub and Shai Hope knitted an unbeaten 89-run stand for the third wicket to chase down the total.

With Guyana needing 15 runs from seven overs, Saim Ayub hit Ali Khan 18 runs in the over to end the game with six overs to spare.

Saim Ayub scored an unbeaten 52 off 41 balls, featuring five sixes and two boundaries, while Shai Hope scored a run-a-ball 32 with the help of two boundaries.

Shai Hope scored the most runs in the tournament 481, while Saim Ayub stood second with 478 runs.

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West Indies’s marquee T20 event Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Guyana Amazon Warriors picked Mohammad Haris and Saim Ayub for the upcoming edition of the tournament. 

The 11th edition of the CPL will run from August 17 to September 25 with six teams fighting to get their hands on the coveted title.

Meanwhile, the CPL on Wednesday, revealed three teams have confirmed their fifth overseas player ahead of this year’s extravaganza.

Consequently, the five-time runners-up Guyana Amazon Warriors have bolstered their squad with the addition of Pakistan batting prodigy Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris.

Saim rose to fame during this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL). He scored 341 runs in 12 matches, at a strike rate of 165.53 with the help of five half-centuries.

The left-handed batter, at the back of a scintillating domestic record, got his maiden call-up for the away T20I series against Afghanistan in March.

He opened the innings for Pakistan in the three-match series against Afghanistan and scored 66 runs in as many matches, including a sensible 49-run knock in the final fixture.

Additionally, the Warriors have also announced that Rahmanullah Gurbaz will not be available for some of this year’s CPL due to international commitments. Gurbaz will be replaced by Pakistan international Mohammad Haris for that period.

Notably, Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris will captain Pakistan Shaheens in the eight-team 15-match ACC Men’s Emerging Asia Cup 2023, which is scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka from 14 to 23 July.

Haris-led Pakistan Shaheens squad was scheduled to depart in the wee hours of Tuesday from Lahore for Sri Lanka via Dubai to feature in the eight-team tournament.

Shaheens are slotted in Group B with India A, Nepal and UAE A. Shaheens will open their campaign on 14 July with a match against Nepal, after which they play UAE A and India A on 17 and 19 July, respectively.

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The upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2023 will feature three Pakistan players Azam Khan, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir.

The players’ draft for the upcoming 11th edition of the CPL took place on Friday, June 30.

Left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir and his Karachi Kings’ teammate and captain Imad Wasim, who represented Jamaica Tallawhs in the previous edition of the league will reunite again for the defending champions.

Meanwhile, Azam Khan, who represented Barbados Royals in the last edition, will represent Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Warriors roped in Azam Khan for a $120,000 deal, making him the highest-paid Pakistan cricketer in the league.

The upcoming CPL edition will run from August 16 to September 24 in Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana.

Complete CPL 2023 schedule

August 16: St Lucia Kings v Jamaica Tallawahs (St Lucia, 7pm)

August 17: St Lucia Kings v Barbados Royals (St Lucia, 7pm)

August 19: Trinbago Knight Riders v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (St Lucia, 10am); St Lucia Kings v Guyana Amazon Warriors (St Lucia, 7pm)

August 20: Jamaica Tallawahs v Barbados Royals (St Lucia, 10am); St Lucia Kings v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (St Lucia, 7pm)

August 23: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Jamaica Tallawahs (St Kitts 7pm)

August 24: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Guyana Amazon Warriors (St Kitts, 7pm)

August 26: St Lucia Kings v Trinbago Knight Riders (St Kitts, 10am); St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Barbados Royals (St Kitts, 7pm)

August 27: Jamaica Tallawahs v Guyana Amazon Warriors (St Kitts, 10am); St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (St Kitts, 7pm)

August 30: Barbados Royals v Trinbago Knight Riders (Barbados, 7pm)

August 31: Barbados Royals v Jamaica Tallawahs (Barbados, 7pm)

September 2: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (Barbados, 10am); Barbados Royals v St Lucia Kings (Barbados, 8pm)

September 3: Jamaica Tallawahs v Trinbago Knight Riders (Barbados, 10am); Barbados Royals v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (Barbados, 8pm)

September 5: Trinbago Knight Riders v Guyana Amazon Warriors (Trinidad, 7pm)

September 6: Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Royals (Trinidad, 7pm)

September 9: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v St Lucia Kings (Trinidad, 10am); Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs (Trinidad, 8pm)

September 10: Barbados Royals v Guyana Amazon Warriors (Trinidad, 10am); Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Kings (Trinidad, 8pm)

September 13: Guyana Amazon Warriors v Jamaica Tallawahs (Guyana, 7pm)

September 14: Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Kings (Guyana, 7pm)

September 16: Jamaica Tallawahs v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (Guyana, 10am); Guyana Amazon Warriors v Trinbago Knight Riders (Guyana, 7pm)

September 17: Jamaica Tallawahs v St Lucia Kings (Guyana, 10am); Guyana Amazon Warriors v Barbados Royals (Guyana, 7pm)

September 19: Eliminator – 3rd v 4th (Guyana, 7pm)

September 20: Qualifier 1 – 1st v 2nd (Guyana, 7pm)

September 22: Qualifier 2 – Winner Eliminator v Loser Qualifier 1 (Guyana, 7pm)

September 24: Final (Guyana, 7pm)

All times are local (BST-5)

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