King slams 83* to lead Tallawahs to third CPL title after Allen, Gordon three-fors set up chase
Favourites Royals tripped at the final hurdle despite solid knocks from Azam Khan and Rahkeem Cornwall
Favourites Royals tripped at the final hurdle despite solid knocks from Azam Khan and Rahkeem Cornwall
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: @PeterDellaPenna
10.24 pm The Royals were the frontrunners all season long, but laid an egg in the final. Tallawahs become the first team to finish in fourth place in the regular season standings to come out on top in the CPL final.
Imad Wasim: "It's my second title with the Tallawahs. It's a great bunch of guys. In T20 at the end of the tournament, you need to get the momentum which we did. Guyana is like a second home for us. [Rovman as captain] He's matured as a leader. He's one of the best players in the West Indies. This will be a big booster for him."
Shiv Chanderpaul: "We have a very good team and we stepped up when we were called upon at the big times."
Curtly Ambrose: "No one gave us a chance, and here we are. Winners!"
Chris Green: "Special special night. To come through the way we have on the back end through thick and thin is amazing."
Brandon King: "Within the team, we have 100% confidence in each other. Everyone contributed at some point in the tournament. All I wanted to do is win the tournament. It turned out that way and I ended up performing decent but all that mattered was we won."
Fabian Allen is named the Hero of the Match for his three wickets. He dedicates it to his father who passed away from cancer earlier this year.
Ramon Simmonds is named the Under-25/Emerging Player of the Tournament.
Hero of the Tournament is Brandon King: "You set goals for yourself before the tournament. Number one is to win the tournament and we did that. I'm happy to finish with the most runs. The guys trust each other to go out there and carry their roles. Brooks came out and took control early when I was struggling but I was happy to be out there to help finish it off. I'm extremely happy that we won this year. There's no special formula. Just work hard and believe in your abilities. Confidence goes a long way. The team is amazing. Everyone believes in each other."
Royals captain Kyle Mayers: "It was tough with the dew. Mujeeb was struggling to grip the ball but I still thought we could have done better. The last two seasons we were last and second last so I'm really proud of this group for making such a massive turnaround. It was a big improvement and hopefully next year we can cross the line."
Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell: "Adjectives cannot describe how I feel right now. We endured a lot of disrespect throughout the tournament so to be here now is amazing. We used the disrespect that we endured as motivation. We were hungry. The guys were very hungry. I told them to hang in and we have a lot of batters and we can get it. The first 100 that Brandon scored, it was in a losing cause and so the guys felt really hurt that it was in a losing cause but we told the guys that's what big boy cricket is about. So to see Brooks score a 100 the other night in a win was special. I've captained a few teams and franchises before I captained Jamaica so I've been learning. Sometimes I feel down and out because I'm human, but my family rallied around me. I wanna say a special thanks to the Guyanese supporters. After we beat Guyana, they could have easily turned on us but we came out today and saw so many Guyanese supporting us. For the fans in Jamaica, you stayed with us through the dark times. This one is for you guys."
Rovman and the rest of the Tallawahs now lift the trophy to conclude the celebrations. Three-time champs! 2013, 2016 and now 2022.
That does it for our live coverage tonight. On behalf of Deiva Muthu, Chandan Duorah and Thilak Rama, I'm Peter Della Penna. Take care!
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Favourites Royals tripped at the final hurdle despite solid knocks from Azam Khan and Rahkeem Cornwall
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