Malik left disappointed after Warriors miss out on CPL title

Barbados Tridents won their second Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title as Guyana Amazon Warriors’ perfect season unraveled at the worst possible moment.

The Warriors had won all 11 matches — including three against the Tridents— before the final, but came off second best in the face of an inspired performance from the Barbados outfit.

Previous final results 👇#CPL19 #CPLFinal pic.twitter.com/Tgoe5Vn6Z9

— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) October 13, 2019

After Jonathan Carter’s unbeaten 50 off 27 balls, who also bagged the award for the player of the match, led a recovery from 108/6 in the 15th over to an imposing 171/6 from 20 overs, the Tridents bowled and fielded for their lives to defend the target by 27 runs and break the Warriors’ hearts at the last hurdle as Raymon Reifer lead the way with remarkable figures of 4/24 from his four overs.

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While the Tridents celebrate a well-deserved and comprehensive victory, the Warriors are left to reflect on a fifth CPL final defeat in seven years. This will perhaps be the toughest to take of all given the flawless season that had preceded it.

Pakistan’s veteran all-rounder and captain of the Warriors, Shoaib Malik, admitted that his side lost their way in the middle of their batting effort.

"First of all, I want to congratulate Barbados Tridents, especially later in the tournament,” said Malik. “Second of all, we missed the trick after ten overs when we were 79 for 3. We missed the trick of not rotating the strike. Even if we would've scored 15-18 runs in those three overs, we would've cruised to victory.”

The 37-year-old was disappointed about failing at the final hurdle but was also optimistic about doing well in the next season.  

“Want to say thanks to the crowd. Without you, we all are nothing. Want to thank my teammates. We fought very hard. We know it's disappointing, but tomorrow is a new day. Next year maybe [smiles],” he said.