Fawad bowls TKR into CPL final

TAROUBA: Fawad Ahmed, this season’s leading wicket-taker, shone brightest as his brilliant spell devastated the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots chase to put defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders back in the CPL final with a 20-run win at the Brian Lara Stadium on Friday.

The regular season table-toppers will be going for their third title in four years on Sunday when they take on Guyana Amazon Warriors, who beat them on Tuesday in the first qualification playoff, in Guyana.

Fawad once again excelled in spite of dewy conditions to extend his season lead to 21 wickets in 12 matches with three more scalps on Friday night. His double-strike in the 16th over to claim Anton Devcich and Ben Cutting, Patriots’ batting heroes from two nights earlier against Jamaica Tallawahs in Guyana, effectively sealed the match for TKR as they seek to become the first CPL side to win back-to-back titles. Devcich had pulled off a wonderful catch stretching low at backward point on Wednesday night to dismiss Johnson Charles for the first Tallawahs wicket. Given an identical catching opportunity in the same spot two days later in the second over against Brendon McCullum though, Devcich fluffed his lines.

A tough but definite chance was spilled off the bowling of Carlos Brathwaite with McCullum on 2 and Devcich roared his displeasure, sensing the magnitude of the moment. It wound up being one of the biggest moments of the night as McCullum wound up being the top scorer from either side on a pitch with spongy bounce, feeling his way through the Powerplay with just 10 runs before attacking Chris Gayle’s offspin in the 7th and 9th overs for a pair of sixes.